Acupuncture for Endometriosis

How Chinese medicine understands endometriosis

Chinese medicine has no single word for endometriosis. It groups the pain under period pain and under “masses” in the lower abdomen, and the central idea is Blood stasis: Blood that has stopped moving freely and settled where it should not be. Stasis pain is fixed, sharp or stabbing, often worse with pressure, and the flow may carry dark clots.

Stasis rarely stands alone. What caused it shapes the treatment:

• Qi stagnation leading to Blood stasis. Pain that builds with stress, breast tenderness and irritability before your period, and bloating.
• Cold congealing the Blood. Cramping that is much better with a hot water bottle, cold hands and feet, and a darker, scanty flow.
• Damp-heat with stasis. Burning or heavy pain, sometimes mid-cycle as well, with more discharge and a heavier flow.
• Qi deficiency with stasis. Long-standing pain with tiredness, a dragging feeling and heavy bleeding, often after years of symptoms.

Moving stasis in a person who is also run down is handled differently from moving it in someone who is strong, which is why the pattern matters as much as the diagnosis.

What treatment involves

Treatment at the clinic in Keswick starts with a long first visit: a lot of questions about your cycle, where and when the pain comes, bleeding, bowel and bladder symptoms, sleep and energy. I look at your tongue and take your pulse. Bring your medical diagnosis, scan or surgery reports, and a record of your last few cycles if you have them.

Acupuncture for endometriosis commonly uses points on the lower belly, lower back and legs, chosen for your pattern. It is aimed at easing pain and the cramping, bloating and poor sleep that come with it. Treatment is usually spread across the whole cycle, not only the days you hurt. For a cold pattern, moxibustion can warm the lower belly.

Because this is an internal, long-standing problem, Chinese herbal medicine is often part of the plan: a formula written for your pattern and dispensed at the clinic, which may change at different points in your cycle.

Plan on 5–10 treatments to judge progress. Changes in period pain are judged over several cycles. For ordinary cramps without endometriosis, see the period cramps page.

Between visits

• Track your pain and cycle. Note the day of your cycle, where the pain is, how bad it is and what helped. It is useful for your gynaecologist and for treatment.
• Use heat. A hot water bottle or heating pad on the lower belly or back is simple and safe.
• Take pain relief as your doctor advised. Anti-inflammatories often work better started early than once pain is strong.
• Keep gently active. Walking, swimming or stretching through the month can help with pelvic tension.
• Ask about pelvic floor physiotherapy if you have pain with sex or a tight pelvic floor.

When to see your doctor first

Endometriosis needs a medical diagnosis and ongoing care. See your doctor or gynaecologist if you have:

• Period pain that keeps getting worse, or pain that stops you working or sleeping.
• Pain during sex, or pain with bowel movements or urination.
• Very heavy bleeding, soaking a pad or tampon every hour, or signs of anaemia such as dizziness and shortness of breath.
• Bleeding between periods or after menopause.
• Trouble getting pregnant.

Go to emergency for sudden, severe pelvic pain, pain with fever or vomiting, or severe one-sided pain if you could be pregnant.