July 2014

Acupuncture: Menstruation

by Patricia Kowal, Licensed Acupuncturist in Noosa

Menstrual cycles are a key aspect of a women's development and maturation, and am area where women tend to get imbalanced. Chinese medicine offers an intake regarding your menstrual cycle will involve many details and questions in order to get to know your body type, period history and menstrual tendencies.

Common menstrual problems

There are many reasons why women's periods can become irregular and out of balance. Some women have pain before, during or after their menstrual bleeding, irregular timing of their cycle, minimal blood flow, heavy blood flow, light blood flow, and others may not have a period at all. Each woman presents with a different set of symptoms and concerns and therefore each woman receives a different acupuncture treatment based on their body type and current health.

Common menstrual problems:

Amenorrhea (not getting a period)
Cysts
Dysmenorrhea (painful periods)
Endometriosis
Fibroids
Heavy period
Irregular periods (early period, late period, irregular periods)
Ovulatory problems (early ovulation, late ovulation, no ovulation)
Light period
Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
Premenstrual Tension, Premenstrual Syndrome (PMT, PMS)
Spotting (before, during or after your period)

The phases of your menstrual cycle

Each women's experience with their period is unique. One common denominator, however, is the phases of their cycles, the ways in the which the body attempts to create your period to arrive every month. There are many reasons why these phases can become off balance and not timed properly in the body. When that happens we may have different problems occur that can affect your mood, cause pain and hormonal imbalances among others. Just as conventional medicine looks to the period as having phases, so too does Chinese medicine.

- Phase 1: Bleeding Phase (begins on Day 1: the first day of a full blood flow)

- Phase 2: Post-Menstruation Phase (starts after your bleeding phase stops, approximately Day 4 or Day 5)

- Phase 3: Ovulation, Mid-Menstrual Cycle (Begins on Day 14 but can vary from Day 12 - Day 15 depending on your body)

- Phase 4: Pre-Menstrual Phase (Starts approximately a week before your period begins, approximately Day 19-20, depending on your body).

Because everyone is unique, it makes sense to look at your body according to the unique features and characteristics your cycle presents. This means that other symptoms that to you may seem unrelated to your period, may in fact be affecting your period from a Chinese medicine standpoint.

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Patricia Kowal is an AHPRA Licensed Acupuncturist, Chinese Herbal Practitioner in Noosa on the Sunshine Coast.

Disclaimer: Please follow up with your practitioner if you are unsure or are having questions about the information contained in this material.

Reference:

Treatment of Infertility with Chinese Medicine, Jane Lyttleton

Photo credits:

Top photo: Roberto Condado via photopin cc

Middle 1 photo: i_yudai via photopin cc

Middle 2 photo: Tony Fischer Photography via photopin cc

Bottom photo: Tony Fischer Fliker