According to a new scientific research of medical specialists from the Oriental Hospital at Kyung Hee University Medical Center in South Korea, acupuncture can be an effective therapeutic technique to alleviate menstrual cramps. This study included also the efforts on summarizing the findings of 27 previous researches which involved about 3,000 women. As a result, the scientists proposed a theory that acupuncture can be used to ease menstrual pains and cramps more effectively than medicines and herbal remedies.
It is reported that more than 50% of modern women suffer from regular menstrual cramps and pains, which are frequently accompanied with bloating, diarrhea, headaches, nausea and vomiting. At that, menstrual pains tend to increase and last for longer periods of time as the woman gets older. The causes of menstrual cramps and pains are not fully explained, and traditional treatment of this problem includes taking painkillers, doing physical exercises and special thermotherapy. Now, the U.S. National Institutes of Health included acupuncture, which has been practiced in China for about 26 centuries, as an alternative effective technique to treat menstrual cramps.
South Korean specialists supposed that such compounds as serotonin and endorphins, which are produced in our body when we are overfilled with positive emotions or when we are doing physical exercises, contribute to relieving pains and cramps linked to menstruation. “There is convincing evidence on the effectiveness of using acupuncture to treat pain as it stimulates the production of endorphins and serotonin in the central nervous system,” the scientists state. They are convinced that their findings will help millions of women who have to look for ways to cope with menstrual cramps every month. The results of this study were recently published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Author Info: Hi! My name is Carla and I am a 5th year medical student at HYMS. I am interested in alternative medicine and I have done months researching the topic of herbal medicine. Besides, I like interviewing people and learning more about their experiences with one or another type of herbal treatments. I am willing to contribute to this site with my knowledge, and I would be happy to help you out to the best of my ability with any specific questions or problems related to alternative medicine.
December 16th, 2010 at 6:59 am
I don’t believe immediately on alternative medicine. I always ask around about it first before trying it out.