Dr Maggie Ju Acupuncture London Chelsea, North Kensington, Notting Hill, and Richmond

Infertility and treatment If you are having difficulty to get pregnant, you are not alone. It is estimated that infertility affects 1 in 7 couples in the UK and this prevalence is increasing. The main causes of infertility in the UK are unexplained infertility (no identified male or female cause) (25%), ovulatory disorders (25%), tubal damage (20%), factors in the male causing infertility (30%), uterine or peritoneal disorders (10%). In about 40% of cases disorders are found in both the man and the woman. In 2011, 48,147 women had a total of 61,726 cycles of IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and 2,087 women had a total of 4,091 cycles of donor insemination. A total of 89,648 embryos were transferred during the course of fertility treatment which started in 2011. A total of 13,703 pregnancies were reported as a result of IVF treatment which started in 2011. In the UK, 201,811 babies have been born after IVF treatment between 1991 and 2010. Of the women who received fertilit

Fibromyalgia, also called fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), is a long-term condition that causes pain all over the body. It is a chronic disorder characterized by chronic, diffuse and widespread musculoskeletal pain, and its cause is still not clear. Patients with fibromyalgia have increased sensitivity to pain. In addition to widespread pain, there are other symptoms present including debilitating fatigue, sleep disturbance, jointstiffness, headaches and irritable bowel syndrome. People with fibromyalgia have often had depression and anxiety. The cause for fibromyalgia is unknown, but is believed involving psychological, genetic, neurobiological and environmental factors. In fibromyalgia, pain processing and neurotransmitter releasing in the brain are altered leading to lower pain thresholds. Fibromyalgia affects up to 4% of population. The main aims of therapy for this condition are to reduce pain and other symptoms and improve function. Painkillers, antidepressants and antiepileptics are

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The pelvis is the lowest part of abdomen. Within the pelvis there are the bowel, bladder, uterus, and ovaries. If something goes wrong with these organs and pelvic surroundings, it can cause pelvic pain. People should know that pelvic pain is not normal. Getting treatment early is important. Pelvic pain can be caused by any of those pelvic organs. Pelvic pain can also originate in the pelvic bones, muscles, nerves, joints, or blood vessels. Pelvic pain from a pelvic floor muscle problem can be helped by a special type of physical therapy known as pelvic floor physical therapy. Pelvic pain sometimes occurs when muscles of the pelvic floor are too tight. Acupuncture is effective for pelvic floor dysfunction Pelvic floor consists of muscles and ligaments. These muscles can contract and relax and coordinate with abdominal muscles to assist pelvic organ function. If the pelvic floor muscles and ligaments are impaired and are not be able to contract or relax, this will affect pelvic organ’s

Bell’s palsy is a rare condition and about 1 in 5000 people in the UK develop the condition each year. Bell’s palsy is facial nerve paralysis caused by facial nerve inflammation with unknown cause. Virus infection is a possible cause. The symptoms include acute unilateral paralysis of all facial muscles. Numbness and pain may be present. They are from mild muscle weakness on side of the face to completely loss of the facial muscle movements of that side. It could affect the eyelid and mouth and make them difficult to open. Other symptoms include irritation of the affected eye, pain underneath the affected ear, increased sensitivity to sound or ringing in the affected ear, drooling from the mouth on the affected side of the face, dryness of the mouth, changed sense of taste, pain around the jaw, difficulty of eating and drinking, impaired speech and headache, dizziness. There is no specific treatment for Bell’s palsy. In most cases of Bell’s palsy, the symptoms will begin to improve wit

Acupuncture is effective for facial pain Acupuncture was effective in pain reduction in patients with facial pain. It has immediate effect. A case reported by Goddard G was about effectiveness of acupuncture in patients with orofacial pain. 29 patients with chronic orofacial pain received acupuncture treatment. The pain was assessed before and after acupuncture treatment. Pain score was significantly reduced after the treatment. Simma I et al studied the effect of acupuncture in patients with craniomandibular disorders, headache and local pain in orofacial, cervical and temporomandibular joint areas using randomized controlled trials. 23 patients were divided into two groups acupuncture group or placebo laser control groups. Pain was assessed immediately before and after the treatment. They found that pain reduction is significantly different between acupuncture group and control group. Shen YF and Goddard G assessed the effect of acupuncture on chronic myofascial pain. There were 15 p

A runny nose, scratchy throat, and nonstop sneezing, sometime fever accompanied-- you can't miss the signs of a cold. One can get a cold year-round, but it is most common to catch cold during autumn and winter. It is known as cold season. People are more likely to get colds when the weather is cold. Do the cold weather makes you sick? Absolutely not. That are the viruses that make one get cold symptoms. The external factors are that viruses that cause colds also spread more easily in colder, drier air- The temperature in autumn and winter is suitable for viruses growing. As a result, in the autumn and winter, there are more viruses. Exposure to viruses is one factor to get cold. In the winter, people spend more time indoors sharing germs with other people. The nasal passages are drier during the winter (due to drier air), allowing cold viruses to gather and grow. The important internal factor is the immune system function. Why some people don’t get cold while other people who exp

We all know women have period cycles, which are normally a month (28 days) with ovulation. Women have two ovaries containing about 1 millions eggs at birth. These are the eggs they ever have and there are no more eggs produced after birth. The existing eggs are lost constantly. By the time at puberty, there are only about 400,000 eggs left. Only 400 to 500 eggs are ovulated in life time. Each month, 15-20 eggs develop and normally only one of them becomes mature (the size of a mature egg is ready to ovulate is about 18-28 mm in diameter) and is released. About 14 days after ovulation the woman would get a period if she is not pregnant. If the eggs in ovaries don’t develop and mature properly, there is no ovulation. This will cause problems in women. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is such a condition with ovulation problem. The ovaries in women with PCOS contain many small cysts which are fluid-filled sacs. This is because eggs stop growing and form many cysts; they don’t mature and a

Summer tea: Chrysanthemum tea can help to clear heat, reduce inflammation and remove toxin from the body. It is good for eyes.  Read more about acupuncture at www.drmaggiejuacupuncture.co.uk

Not ovulate, acupuncture improves ovulation There are many factors that cause anovulation and here are some common causes of anovulation. Hypothalamic-pituitary causes Hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian-axis dysfunction. This is caused by problems of hypothalamus or pituitary gland in the brain. As a result the hormones are not balanced which does not trigger ovulation and leads to infertility. The reasons that affect hormone balance include stress (see below); the other common causes are excessive exercises and/or underweight. As we already known that subtle environmental changes may alter the menstrual cycle and cause anovulation. For example, summer camp menstrual disturbances and exam anovulation. Women in emotional stress could have no ovulation. This is temporary situation. If women get out of the stress environment, menstruation and ovulation could be returned. However if this situation is prolonged, anovulation could be persistent. Finding the causes of stress situation and avoidin

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a degenerated central (brain and spinal cord) nervous system disorder. The insulating nerve cover in the brain and spine is targeted and damaged by the immune system. This results in loss of function of the nervous system causing various symptoms depending which nerves are affected most. There are 2.3 milion people worldwide suffer MS. Medical management limits the frequency and intensity of disease activity, but only for persons with relapsing-remitting MS. The most common type of MS is relapsing-remitting (RR) MS. In this type, s series of attacks followed by complete or partial disappearance of the symptoms until another attack occurs. It may be weeks to years between the attacks. The symptoms can be from mild to severe. Vision disturbances could be the first sign of MS. Limb weakness with or without difficulty of coordination and balance could be early symptom. Other common symptoms include muscle spasm, fatigue, numbness and pricking pain. Loss of sensa

Age affects fertility A more recent study of university students in Sweden found that half of the female students were not aware of the age-related decline in fertility and intended to have children after the age of 35. There is clear evidence of an age-related decline in female fertility. By the time women reach 35 years of age, their fertility is declining markedly. This presents that the number and quality of eggs decrease; also genetic abnormalities and spontaneous abortion increase noticeably with female age. A study involved in 1000 women in pregnancy showed that 71% of women aged 30 conceived within 3 months whereas only 41% of women aged 36 conceived within 3 months. A negative effect of increasing male age particularly in the late 30s was also found. A study involved 2112 women in pregnancy showed that increasing age for both men and women take longer time to conceive. There were some other studies presented similar results. There is a significant decline in clinical pregnancy

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder characterized by chronic or recurrent abdominal pain or discomfort, which is associated with disturbed bowel function and feelings of abdominal distention and bloating. The prevalence of IBS reaches up to 10% globally and affects all age groups. It is associated with a significant reduction in health-related quality of life. IBS is caused by multiple factors, including intestinal motility and intestinal smooth muscle functional disturbance, visceral paresthesia, alterations in the brain-gut axis, psychological factors, gastrointestinal hormones, and intestinal infection. This condition is not life-threatening, but leads to significant impairment of health-related quality of life, which causes physical role limitations as well as pain and a lower perception of general health. There is no universally accepted satisfactory treatment for this condition. No drug is effective in treating all the symptoms of IBS. Very re

Because women are so busy all the time, they may not notice that they are growing older. Wrinkles may be already on our face; skin may become loose. Hormone level in the body has changed. Because of this change, it declared the old age’s coming. Some women may have unpleasant symptoms, such as hot flush, night sweaty; these symptoms may exist a few years before menopause starts and may last a few years afterwards. For them, pleasant summer became unbearable hot; night became sleepless nights. What can you do about it? Hormone replacement therapy may relieve the symptoms, but the risk to take is very big which include having breast cancer, stroke and dementia etc. For this reason, alternative treatment is a good choice. Acupuncture was recognised as an effective way to reduce hot flush. Borud et al performed a randomised controlled trial to study effectiveness of acupuncture for hot flush. 10 sessions of acupuncture were given to acupuncture group and advice on self-care was for control

Muscles attached to the base of the skull and related to tension headaches Trapezius muscle Trapezuis muscle is one of the largest superficial muscles at the back. It is originated from the base of the skull and extends down to the neck, the upper back until mid back and it is inserted to the shoulder blades. The function of the trapezius muscle is performed by three distinct regions: upper, middle and lower parts. They move the shoulder blades and support the arms; retracts the shoulder blades; rotates and depresses the shoulder blades. The muscle can become tight and stiff causing headache which is characterised as pain at the base of the skull, on the temples, on the face, jaw pain or pain behind the eyes. Semispinalis captis Semispinalis captisis lies deep to the trapezius muscle. It is originated from the four to seven cervical vertebraes and the upper seven thoracic vertibraes and is inserted into the base of the occipital bone deep to the trapesius muscle. They extend the head a

 Breastfeeding is good for both baby and mother. The Benefits of Breastfeeding for the Baby: Breast milk provides perfect natural nutrition including vitamins, proteins and energy for baby’s needs to grow. Breast milk contains antibodies that help your baby fight off viruses and bacteria and have fewer infections. Breastfeeding lowers your baby's risk of having asthma or allergies. The physical closeness, skin-to-skin touching, and eye contact all help the baby bond with mother and feel secure. Breastfeeding has been linked to higher IQ scores in later childhood in some studies. Breastfeeding Benefits for the Mother: Breastfeeding burns extra calories helping lose pregnancy weight faster. It releases the hormone oxytocin, which helps the uterus return to its none pregnancy size and may reduce uterine bleeding after birth. We use natural herbal ingredients in Chinese herbal medicine to boost milk production and help breastfeeding. References https://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/nurs