Acupuncture for Period Cramps

How Chinese medicine understands period cramps

In Chinese medicine, a period comes smoothly when Qi and Blood move freely and there is enough Blood to fill the uterus each month. Cramps come down to one of two things: Blood that is not moving well, or Blood and Qi that are too weak. Chinese medicine calls it ‘where there is no free flow, there is pain.’ When and how the pain comes helps show which.

The common patterns are:

• Qi and Blood stagnation. Sharp or cramping pain just before or on the first day, dark clots, and pain that eases once the clots pass. Breast tenderness, irritability and bloating before your period often go with it.
• Cold in the uterus. Cramping that is much better with a hot water bottle, a scanty dark flow with clots, and cold hands and feet. It is often worse in cold weather or after cold food and drinks.
• Damp-heat. Burning or heavy pain, sometimes also mid-cycle, with a heavier, darker flow and more discharge between periods.
• Qi and Blood deficiency. A dull, dragging ache late in the period or just after it, eased by pressure. The flow is light and pale, and you feel tired or dizzy.
• Liver and Kidney deficiency. A dull ache in the lower belly and lower back after your period, with weak knees and fatigue.

Stagnation is treated by moving Qi and Blood; deficiency is treated by building them. Doing the wrong one can make things worse, so the pattern matters.

What treatment involves

Your first visit covers your cycle in detail: how long it is, when the pain starts and stops, where it is, the colour and amount of the flow, clots, and what happens in the week before. We also talk about digestion, sleep and energy. I check your tongue and pulse, and the diagnosis is based on the pattern all of this shows. If you can, bring a record of your last few cycles.

Acupuncture for period cramps typically uses points on the lower belly, legs and lower back, chosen for the pattern. Treatment is usually spread across the whole cycle, not only when you hurt, because the pattern builds up in the weeks before. Where there is cold, moxibustion may be used to warm the lower belly.

Chinese herbal medicine can be part of the plan: a formula written for your pattern, which may change at different points in your cycle. Acupuncture and herbs are often used together.

Plan on 5–10 treatments to judge progress. The clinic is in Keswick, and treatment can run alongside the care you get from your family doctor or gynaecologist.

Between visits

• Use heat. A hot water bottle or heating pad on the lower belly or lower back is simple and safe.
• Take pain relief early. If your doctor or pharmacist has recommended an anti-inflammatory such as ibuprofen, it usually works better taken at the first sign of pain than once cramps are strong.
• Stay active through the month. Regular exercise such as walking, swimming or yoga is a low-risk thing to try.
• Track your cycle and your pain in an app or notebook. It helps your doctor, and it helps show your pattern.
• If you smoke, try to stop. Smoking is linked with more painful periods.

When to see your doctor first

Most period pain has no serious cause, but some does. See your doctor if you have:

• Period pain that starts or gets much worse after your mid-twenties, or pain that keeps getting worse over time.
• Pain between periods, pain during or after sex, or pain with bowel movements.
• Very heavy bleeding, such as soaking a pad or tampon every hour, or passing large clots.
• Bleeding between periods or after sex.
• Fever, unusual discharge, or pain after a new sexual partner or an IUD insertion.
• Pain that painkillers do not touch, or trouble getting pregnant.

Go to emergency for severe one-sided pain, especially if your period is late or you could be pregnant.