Acupuncture can help to raise progesterone level to get pregnant.

In women progesterone is mainly made in the ovary. The production of progesterone is increasing rapidly after ovulation. Its level is highest during luteal phase especially from day 19 to day 22 of the menstrual cycle. Progesterone prepares uterine inner lining for implantation; it prevents further ovulation and it makes mucus thicker to prevent sperm to penetrate. If fertilization does not occur, progesterone level drops and menstruation takes place. If fertilization happens, much more progesterone is produced during pregnancy by the placenta. During this period, progesterone prevents miscarriage, because it decreases the maternal immune response to accept the pregnancy; it also reduces uterine smooth muscle contractility. It contributes to the survival and development of the embryo and fetus.

Recent study has found that acupuncture could increase the estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P) levels in IVF patients and promote the endometrial artery blood flow; acupuncture could increase blood E2 and P levels and reduce the incidence of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). These results have suggested that acupuncture can restore the average balance and regularity of sex hormones in infertile women by decreasing serum FSH and LH levels and increasing E2 and P levels, which are beneficial for follicle development and maturation, regular ovulation, and the normal physiological function of the inner membrane.

References
Jing-yu Xu et al Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022; 2022: 3854117.

Having IVF treatment? Acupuncture improves fertility to assist IVF success.

Acupuncture is used to assist IVF widely. Many studies have discussed the beneficial effects of acupuncture on female infertility and assist IVF successfully. This is analysed by a recent review. They found that six RCTs from last three years of IVF-ET patients treated with acupuncture showed a significantly increased clinical pregnancy rate than those without acupuncture.

For example, one study showed that acupuncture could improve the rate of high-quality embryos in IVF patients. Another study showed that acupuncture could increase the estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P) levels in IVF patients and promote the endometrial artery blood flow; all of these are conducive to embryo transfer. Similarly, after follow-up, three studies showed significant differences in the rate of persistent pregnancy between the two groups. A study showed that IVF-ET patients treated with acupuncture had a higher live birth rate. Another showed that acupuncture could improve the endometrial morphology and menstruation in IVF-ET patients, and more study showed that acupuncture significantly improved blood E2 levels, the number of ova obtained, and the number of high-quality embryos in IVF patients. Furthermore, one study showed that acupuncture could increase blood E2 and P levels and reduce the incidence of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). Acupuncture can improve the clinical pregnancy rate of IVF-ET patients by ameliorating the level of sex hormones and promoting the endometrial condition. In addition, acupuncture also reduced the occurrence of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) and alleviated patients' anxiety levels.

References
Jing-yu Xu et al Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022; 2022: 3854117.

Low AMH to get pregnant, acupuncture can help. Research update

Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) is a substance produced in small ovarian follicles less than 4 mm which are so small that they can not be seen by ultrasound. Production decreases and then stops as follicles grow. There is almost no AMH made in follicles over 8mm.Therefore, the levels are fairly constant. Since AMH is produced only in small ovarian follicles, blood levels of this substance have been used to attempt to measure the size of the pool of growing follicles in women. The size of the pool of growing follicles is deeply influenced by the size of the pool of remaining ungrowing follicles. Therefore, AMH blood levels are thought to reflect the size of the remaining egg supply - or "ovarian reserve". Because of the constancy, the AMH test can be done on any day of a woman's cycle. Women with few remaining follicles have low AMH. With increased age, AMH decreases. AMH can only indicates the remaining quantity of eggs that a woman has, but it does not indicate the quality of those eggs. Female age is a very important consideration when estimating the probability for conception because it is a strong determinant of egg quality. Low AMH levels (alone) do not predict low IVF success rates in women under 35. In age-related low AMH, the quality of the eggs may also be affected, as eggs accumulate mutations over time. When there are fewer developing eggs in the ovaries, the chance of a mature and healthy egg being released and fertilised decreases. This may mean that the chances of abnormal fertilisation and miscarriage are increased.

Recent research has suggested that acupuncture at different stages in the menstrual cycle could increase the levels of AMH and increase the AFC in patients with POI. Acupuncture was effective in improving ovarian function. Acupuncture can help improve blood circulation to help follicles development and increase the chance to get good quality of eggs.

References
Yang Fu et al Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022; 2022: 9053930.

Why your FSH level is increased? Acupuncture lowers FSH level to help you to get pregnant.

Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) s produced in the brain and FSH acts at ovaries to stimulate follicles developments to produce oestrogen and progesterone. If ovaries are not functioning well, they don’t respond to FSH stimulation. The brain will increase FSH production to push ovaries to work hard. As a result, FSH level is elevated.

If women want to have children, their ovaries need to be functioning to produce eggs. If FSH is low in the normal range, this indicates that ovaries are working well.

Acupuncture can help improve ovary function and lower FSH level. This is proved by the research paper. For example a systematic review assessed current evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the effects of acupuncture for patients with primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) which FSH level is elevated.

They analysed eight RCTs selected. Their result has shown that acupuncture significantly lowered serum FSH levels.

References
Junyoung Jo, et al Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2015; 2015: 842180.
Yang Fu et al Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022; 2022: 9053930.

Acupuncture is effective for premature ovarian insufficiency (POI)

Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is a condition of a decline of ovarian function before the age of 40 and is one of the major causes of female infertility. It is characterized by elevated FSH and LH levels and low estradiol (E2) levels. The symptoms include menstrual disturbance, and menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, and insomnia, and increase the risk of decreased bone mineral density and cardiovascular disease. The incidence of POI is approximately 1%–5%.

According to the guidelines for POI developed by the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), the diagnostic criteria are as follows: age <40 years, oligo/amenorrhea for at least 4 months, and elevated follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels >25 mIU/ml on two occasions >4 weeks apart. The exact causes of POI are still unclear, but they could be related to gene factors, iatrogenic causes, autoimmunity, unhealthy lifestyle, and psychological stress. Currently, the main way in Western medicine to treat POI is hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Acupuncture is suggested a good candidate to improve ovarian function for women with POI and want to have children in China. Clinical research shows the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating POI. Acupuncture treatment improved clinical symptoms, slowed down female genital atrophy, regulated hormone levels, and improved pregnancy rates.

For example, A research analysed Eight RCTs before 2014. The result has shown that acupuncture significantly lowered serum FSH levels and more women receiving acupuncture reported resumption of menses. Research studied the effect on acupuncture on POI. A total of 66 patients with POI were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group. Both groups were treated for 3 menstrual cycles. Compared before treatment, the serum levels of FSH and LH were decreased, the levels of E2 were increased. After treatment, the serum level of AMH and AFC in the observation group were increased and higher than those in the control group. Another study has shown that after three menstrual cycles, the level of FSH was significantly reduced, E2 was increased, the endometrium became thicker, and the menstrual symptoms were improved, suggesting that the acupuncture therapy was effective in improving ovarian function and low estrogen symptoms in POI patients.

References
Yang Fu et al Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022; 2022: 9053930.
Junyoung Jo et al Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2015; 2015: 842180.
Lin-Lin Wang et al Zhongguo Zhen Jiu 2021 Jul 12;41(7):742-6.

How can acupuncture help female infertility? Research updates

Female infertility is increasing globally. Many studies have discussed the beneficial effects of acupuncture on female infertility. With advancements in science and medical technology, acupuncture-related research has increased in investigating its effectiveness in treating female infertility. Research has shown that acupuncture has a positive treatment effect on female infertility.

How does it work? This is research update about how acupuncture works on female fertility.

First, regulate reproductive hormones. There are five of them. GnRH, FSH, LH, oestrogen and progesterone. These five hormones need to be well balanced to the right level for reproductive system to work and for women to get pregnant. If these hormones lost balance and their levels are up and down, women would have difficulty to conceive. Acupuncture helps to restore these hormones balance to promote pregnancy.

Second, improve ovarian function. Acupuncture can reduce inflammation in the ovary and promote the blood supply in the ovary. This improves ovarian toxic environment and helps follicles development and ovulation and improves ovarian function.

Third, promote embryo implantation. Acupuncture helps to resist the maternal immune response to embryos. Acupuncture helps to establish the pathway of material exchange between mother and embryo. Acupuncture helps embryo development and growing to the uterine lining.

References
Jing-yu Xu et al Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022; 2022: 3854117.

Can't get pregnant? What happened to the uterus? Acupuncture improves endometrial receptivity to get pregnant naturally and via IVF.

Endometrial receptivity (ER) refers to the ability of endometrium (uterine lining) to accept embryos for implantation which is a critical step to get pregnant. ER changes with the menstrual cycle. There are only a few days in the menstrual cycle when uterine lining is good enough to accept embryos implantation. This is implantation window generally 6-10 days after ovulation, which is the 20th to 24th day of the normal menstrual cycle. Studies have shown that low pregnancy rate is closely related to the thin endometrium. If the average size of the follicles reaches 18 mm and the endometrial thickness is < 7.0 mm, embryo implantation will be greatly affected. Clinically, higher quality embryos can usually be transferred, but only a few embryos can be successfully implanted in the IVF-ET cycle. Studies have shown that up to 75 % of pregnancy losses are due to implantation failure. Studies have confirmed that 2/3 of IVF-ET implantation failures are due to low endometrial receptivity (ER). Therefore, improving ER is the key to get pregnant naturally or via IVF by increasing the IVF-ET pregnancy rate.

Thin endometrium is one of the most important factors for low ER, Thin endometrium refers to the thickness of the endometrium in the middle luteal phase (after ovulation) of 6–10 days is < 7.0 mm. Studies have shown that low pregnancy rate is closely related to the thin endometrium. If the average size of the follicles reaches 18 mm and the endometrial thickness is < 7.0 mm, embryo implantation will be greatly affected. clinical studies have found that endometrium with a thickness of more than 8 mm is more suitable for embryo implantation and development. Endometrial thickness, endometrial pattern and endometrial blood supply are closely related to embryo implantation. Study suggested that increasing the uterine blood flow and endometrial thickness has positive significance for improving ER and has a positive effect on embryo implantation rate and clinical pregnancy rate. Though great improvement has been achieved in embryo quality, little progress has been made for improvement of poor quality of ER over three decades after the introduction of IVF.

As an effective non-drug therapy, acupuncture has been chosen by many infertile couples as a treatment.

Can acupuncture improve endometrial receptivity?

A recent study reviewed the evidence of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using acupuncture to improve endometrial receptivity (ER). 3041 patients were included in the analysis. They found some evidence that acupuncture may improve pregnancy rate, and embryo transfer rate and the thickening of endometrium.

A recent review analysed all data of 14 trials with 1564 women participants from inception to 26 February 2022 to investigate the dose-related efficacy of acupuncture for endometrium receptivity.

They found that acupuncture treatment for 2 or 4 days only did not improve uterine blood flow, ER or pregnant rate. Acupuncture treatment for one menstrual cycle significantly increased uterine blood flow, endometrial (uterine lining) thickness and ER and has higher pregnant rate compared to control group. Acupuncture treatment for three cycles significantly increased more in uterine blood flow, endometrial (uterine lining) thickness and ER and has higher pregnant rate compared to control group.

References
Xiaoyan Zheng, et al Front Public Health. 2022; 10: 858587
Yajing Zhong et al BMC Complement Altern Med. 2019; 19: 61.

Acupuncture releases tension headache and migraine effectively research update

Tension-type headache is the most common type of headache which may occur frequently and affect a patient’s quality of life. Migraine is severe episodic type of headache. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses demonstrate that acupuncture significantly improved pain intensity and reduced headache attack frequency compared to routine care only, medical management, and sham acupuncture. It plays a key role in the treatment or prevention of tension-type headache, migraine or other chronic headache disorders. Also cost effectiveness analyses conducted in the United Kingdom and Germany suggest that acupuncture is a cost-effective treatment option in those countries. Acupuncture is recommended by the European Federation of Neurological Societies as a complimentary optional treatment for headaches.

References
Jaung-Geng Lin, et al Am J Transl Res. 2022; 14(3): 1469–1481.
Remy R Coeytaux et al Headache 2016 Jul;56(7):1238-40.

Acupuncture effectively reduces knee pain research update

Chronic knee pain is common condition that disturbs daily activities. A systematic review evaluated the effects of acupuncture on pain and function in patients with chronic knee pain. Studies were selected in which adults with chronic knee pain or osteoarthritis of the knee were randomized to receive either acupuncture treatment or a control consisting of sham (placebo) acupuncture

Combining five studies in 1334 patients, acupuncture was superior to sham acupuncture for both pain and function. The differences were still significant at long-term follow-up. Acupuncture was also significantly superior to no additional intervention.

Conclusions is that Acupuncture that meets criteria for adequate treatment is significantly superior to sham acupuncture and to no additional intervention in improving pain and function in patients with chronic knee pain.

One study has shown that the acupuncture groups showed superior pain improvement and physical function in the short term (up to 13 weeks).

Another study has shown that acupuncture was associated with significantly reduced chronic knee pain at 12 weeks.

Research has also shown that The effect of acupuncture may be associated with dose of acupuncture, with a higher dosage related to better treatment outcomes in terms of relief of pain and dysfunction in patients with knee osteoarthritis.

References
Jaung-Geng Lin et al Am J Transl Res. 2022; 14(3): 1469–1481.
White A, et al Rheumatology (Oxford) 2007;46:384–390.
Zhang Q et al Acupunct Med. 2017;35:392–403.
Lin X et al, J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2016;98:1578–1585.
Sun N et al,Acupunct Med. 2019;37:261–267.

Do you know that acupuncture releases neck pain and associated symptoms effectively?

Chronic neck pain is a major and serious health problem worldwide. Neck pain is often accompanied with restricted neck movement, dizziness, anxiety, and insomnia. Acupuncture is an effective treatment for chronic neck pain.

A review summarises the most current scientific evidence on the effectiveness of acupuncture for acute, subacute and chronic neck pain from 27 studies. Of the 27 included studies, three represented individuals with whiplash-associated disorders (WADs) ranging from acute to chronic (205 participants), five explored chronic myofascial neck pain (186 participants), five chronic pain due to arthritic changes (542 participants), six chronic non-specific neck pain (4011 participants), two neck pain with radicular signs (43 participants) and six subacute or chronic mechanical neck pain (5111 participants).

They found that acupuncture is beneficial at immediate-term follow-up compared with sham acupuncture for pain intensity; at short-term follow-up compared with sham or inactive treatment for pain intensity; at short-term follow-up compared with sham treatment for disability; and at short-term follow-up compared with wait-list control for pain intensity and neck disability improvement. Their result has shown that acupuncture relieves pain effectively compared to the controls.

A random controlled clinical trial in Norway was performed. In this trial Twenty-four female office workers (age 47 +/- 9 years old) who had had neck and shoulder pain for 12 +/- 9 years, were randomly assigned to a test group or a control group. Acupuncture was applied 10 times during three to four weeks. Result has shown that pain-related activity impairment at work was significantly less in the test group than the controls by the end of treatment. Also there were significant differences between the groups for quality of sleep, anxiety, depression and satisfaction with life. At six months and three years follow ups the acupuncture group showed further improvements in most variables and was again significantly different from the control group. Conclusion from this trial: Intensive acupuncture treatment may improve activity at work and several relevant social and psychological variables for women with chronic pain in the neck and shoulders. The effect may last for at least three years.

References
Jaung-Geng Lin, et al Am J Transl Res. 2022; 14(3): 1469–1481.
He D et al Acupunct Med. 2005;23:52–61
Trinh K, et al Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016:CD004870.

Acupuncture for chronic shoulder pain

Chronic shoulder pain is the most common type of musculoskeletal pain. This pain is caused by rotator cuff strain or tear, biceps tendinitis, subacromial bursitis, glenohumeral osteoarthritis, impingement syndrome, and adhesive capsulitis.

Acupuncture is an effective and safe therapy for chronic shoulder pain.

A German Randomized Acupuncture Trial for chronic shoulder pain consisted of 424 outpatients with chronic shoulder pain (CSP) last over 6 weeks showed that acupuncture significantly reduced the shoulder pain and improved shoulder movement at 3 months post-treatment and directly after the end of treatment.

A clinical trial studied acupuncture on shoulder pain. The participants are patients aged from 25 to 83 years with shoulder pain. At six month follow-up after treatment the acupuncture group showed a significantly greater improvement in pain intensity compared with the control group. This suggested that acupuncture is an effective long-term treatment for patients with shoulder pain.

Some research studied acupuncture points used for shoulder pain. Some acupuncture points are more effective than others.


References
Jaung-Geng Lin, et al Am J Transl Res. 2022; 14(3): 1469–1481.
Albrecht F Molsberger et al Pain 2010 Oct;151(1):146-154.
Juan Antonio Guerra de Hoyos et al Pain 2004 Dec;112(3):289-298.
Itoh K et al J Acupunct Meridian Stud. 2014;7:59–64.
Wang KF et al A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Chin J Integr Med. 2016;22:467–472.