Endometriosis has had some press lately. It, affects approximately 10% of women of reproductive age. It is a condition where cells similar to those that line the uterus grow in other areas of your body, especially around your ovaries and uterus. I have had a client who had it in her lungs.
It affects women differently though pain is a common symptom of this condition with the degree of pain often related to the location of this tissue.
Current endometriosis treatments do not always provide symptom relief and there are various treatments available that can either complement your medical treatment or are an alternative to medical treatment.
"The most popular is traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and herbal preparations". **
Further, this systematic review and meta analysis : Acupuncture for endometriosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis conducted searches on 20 March 2023 at the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PubMed, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database (AMED) and Embase (Ovid), Epistemonikos, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL; EBSCOhost).
Six studies totalling 331 participants were included. The conclusion?
"Acupuncture treatment for endometriosis demonstrated clinically relevant improvements in pelvic pain and should be considered as a potential treatment intervention".
Keep in mind that TCM, the herbal preparations and acupuncture, like all interventions are not a magic bullet and research is ongoing.
Is it right for me? Will the herbs interfere with any prescription medications I am taking? Have that conversation with an educated, trained and experienced practitioner.
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