The University of Melbourne, in collaboration with Jean Hailes for Women’s Health and Monash/RMIT/Southern Cross Universities is looking for healthy postmenopausal women who can attend for
10 free sessions of acupuncture
(either real or placebo) as part of a study on acupuncture for hot flushes.
Eligibility criteria:
You need to be over 40
Have not had acupuncture in the past TWO years
Having regular hot flushes
Have not had a hysterectomy or your ovaries removed
At least 12 months since your last menstrual period
Have not started any treatment for hot flushes within the past 12 weeks
Not taking hormone replacement therapy
Willing to attend for acupuncture (real or placebo) at the nearest location over 8 weeks
Treatments are provided by Dr. Richard Zeng (TCM Dr.) at Coburg and Ringwood clinic, and other experienced acupuncturists located in St Kilda, Bentleigh, Rosanna, Mount Waverley, Bundoora and Melton. Treatments last for 30 minutes except for the first treatment which is 45 minutes.
Adenosine A1 receptors mediate local anti-nociceptive effects of acupuncture
Nanna Goldman, Michael Chen, Takumi Fujita, Qiwu Xu, Weiguo Peng, Wei Liu, Tina K Jensen, Yong Pei, Fushun Wang, Xiaoning Han, Jiang-Fan Chen, Jurgen Schnermann, Takahiro Takano, Lane Bekar, Kim Tieu & Maiken Nedergaard
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Nature Neuroscience 13, 883–888 (2010) doi:10.1038/nn.2562 2010 Published online 30 May 2010
Abstract
Acupuncture is an invasive procedure commonly used to relieve pain. Acupuncture is practiced worldwide, despite difficulties in reconciling its principles with evidence-based medicine. We found that adenosine, a neuromodulator with anti-nociceptive properties, was released during acupuncture in mice and that its anti-nociceptive actions required adenosine A1 receptor expression. Direct injection of an adenosine A1 receptor agonist replicated the analgesic effect of acupuncture. Inhibition of enzymes involved in adenosine degradation potentiated the acupuncture-elicited increase in adenosine, as well as its anti-nociceptive effect. These observations indicate that adenosine mediates the effects of acupuncture and that interfering with adenosine metabolism may prolong the clinical benefit of acupuncture.
According to Chinese medicine theory, the menstrual cycle involves not only changes in reproductive physiology but also energetic shifts, encompassing yin, yang, qi, and blood, which are reflected in the different phases of the cycle.
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In some cases, infertility patients may appear healthy and robust, often at a relatively young age, yet experience difficulties conceiving. Chinese medicine practitioners are trained to detect subtle signs of imbalance during evaluations. One such subtle clue is the state of cervical mucus. Within Chinese medicine, tracking cervical mucus is highly valued as it represents the Yin energy, which supports the growth of the follicle and promotes a healthy endometrial tissue.
It is very important for women who are trying to conceive to understand the best time for conceiving. There are various methods to help determine when the best time for conception is. One of the most effective and cost-efficient techniques is observing changes in cervical mucus.
It’s important to acknowledge that external factors can influence cervical mucus, including:
Stress
Medications or drugs (inc. Clomid)
If you may be pre-menopausal
Illness
Dieting, weight change or fasting
Travel
It is crucial to report any changes in cervical mucus to your Chinese medicine doctor or acupuncturist so that they can adjust the treatment plan to enhance mucus production. Typically, when a client exhibits favourable fertile mucus and experiences a successful ovulation, it indicates a positive outcome.
So, How Do You Observe Cervical Mucus?
There are three methods you can choose from, depending on your comfort level:
Toilet Paper: Observe the mucus found after wiping.
External Observation: Use your fingers to feel for mucus around the opening of your vagina.
Internal Observation: Insert your index and third fingers into your vagina, reaching the cervix, and gently sweep to check the mucus from the cervix.
Once you have some mucus on your fingers, place it between your thumb and index finger, then press them together and stretch the mucus. Pay attention to its behaviour:
Does it stretch?
Does it retain its shape and feel sticky?
Is it slippery?
Is it clear, yellow, or cloudy?
Take note of these characteristics.
Infertile mucus
After your period for 3 to five days, you may find that you have no mucus (dry). Any mucus that is seen at this time is infertile. If you do find mucus, it will likely be sticky and may come out as a blob.
Words women use to describe their infertile mucus at this time include:
Thick
Dense
Sticky
Flaky
Tacky
Infertile mucus feels drier to touch than fertile mucus. It may be yellow, white or opaque. Upon observation by touch between your thumb and index finger, you will find that it does not stretch or move – it is quite thick.
Fertile mucus
Cervical mucus will become moist but sticky, about the consistency of a hand lotion product, just days before you ovulate. At this stage, the colour will range from white to cream-coloured. If your cervical mucus appears this way, there is some chance for conception.
When you are ovulating, you will have the most cervical mucus. The cervical mucus should be about the same texture and have a similar appearance to an egg white; at this stage, it is often referred to as “egg-white cervical mucus.” Finger testing will allow the mucus to stretch quite a ways (several centimetres) before it breaks (if it breaks at all). This is the time, during ovulation, when you are most likely to become pregnant.
Words women use to describe their fertile mucus include:
Wet
Slippery
Watery
Clear
Thin
Fluid
After ovulation
If your cervical mucus resembles an egg white but is less slippery, it indicates that you have recently completed ovulation. This typically occurs between the end of ovulation and the start of your next period. While there is still a chance for conception during this time, it is relatively low.
Regularly checking your cervical mucus can help you determine your current position in the menstrual cycle. By tracking changes in your cervical mucus over several months, you can gain a better understanding of the number of days from the end of your period until ovulation occurs. This information allows you to identify the optimal time for conception.
Best time for conception
It is best for couples to have unprotected sex every few days throughout the cycle, however studies have shown that most couple conceive through sex two to three days prior to ovulation. So as soon as the mucous become fertile is a good time to start.
Cycle
-8
-7
-6
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
Rise in temperature
+1
+2
Probability
0.3
1.4
2.7
6.8
17.6
23.7
25.5
21.2
10.3
0.8
0.38
Study
3175 cycles with 434 pregnancies. Reference point is the first day of elevated temperatures; ovulation itself usually occurs on the day before the rise in temperature.
One research showed acupuncture can improve pregnancy rate after ART.
The research is to evaluate the effect of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in assisted reproduction therapy (ART) by comparing a group of patients receiving acupuncture treatment shortly before and after embryo transfer with a control group receiving no acupuncture.
After giving informed consent, 160 patients who were undergoing ART and who had good quality embryos were divided into the following two groups through random selection: embryo transfer with acupuncture (n = 80) and embryo transfer without acupuncture (n = 80).
Acupuncture was performed in 80 patients 25 minutes before and after embryo transfer. In the control group, embryos were transferred without any supportive therapy.
The result showed that, the clinical pregnancies rate of each group are:
in the acupuncture group: 42.5%
in the control group: 26.3%
The research showed that acupuncture is a useful tool for improving pregnancy rate after ART.
References
Paulus WE, Zhang M, Strehler E, El-Danasouri I, Sterzik K. Fertil Steril. 2002 Apr;77(4):721-4
To evaluate the effect of acupuncture on reproductive outcome in patients treated with IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). One group of patients received acupuncture on the day of ET, another group on ET day and again 2 days later (i.e., closer to implantation day), and both groups were compared with a control group that did not receive acupuncture.
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DESIGN
Prospective, randomised trial. SETTING: Private fertility center. PATIENT(S): During the study period all patients receiving IVF or ICSI treatment were offered participation in the study. On the day of oocyte retrieval, patients were randomly allocated (with sealed envelopes) to receive acupuncture on the day of ET (ACU 1 group, n = 95), on that day and again 2 days later (ACU 2 group, n = 91), or no acupuncture (control group, n = 87).
INTERVENTION(S)
Acupuncture was performed immediately before and after ET (ACU 1 and 2 groups), with each session lasting 25 minutes; and one 25-minute session was performed 2 days later in the ACU 2 group.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S)
Clinical pregnancy and ongoing pregnancy rates in the three groups.
RESULT(S)
Clinical and ongoing pregnancy rates were significantly higher in the ACU 1 group as compared with controls (37 of 95 [39%] vs. 21 of 87 [26%] and 34 of 95 [36%] vs. 19 of 87 [22%]). The clinical and ongoing pregnancy rates in the ACU 2 group (36% and 26%) were higher than in controls, but the difference did not reach statistical difference.
CONCLUSION(S)
Acupuncture on the day of ET significantly improves the reproductive outcome of IVF/ICSI, compared with no acupuncture. Repeating acupuncture on ET day +2 provided no additional beneficial effect.
References
Westergaard LG1, Mao Q, Krogslund M, Sandrini S, Lenz S, Grinsted J.
A modern twist on traditional acupuncture may bring some pain relief to people with knee arthritis, at least in the short term, a small study suggests.
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electro-acupuncture for knee arthritis
The study, published in the journal Pain, looked at the effects of electro-acupuncture among 40 adults with knee osteoarthritis — the common “wear-and-tear” form of arthritis in which the cartilage cushioning the joints breaks down.Electro-acupuncture is similar to traditional acupuncture, where fine needles are inserted into specific points in the skin. What’s different is that the practitioner fits the needles with clips that are attached to a small device that delivers a continuous electrical impulse to stimulate the acupuncture point.
Among the patients in the current study, those who had a daily electro-acupuncture session for 10 consecutive days reported greater improvement in their pain compared with patients who received a “sham” version of the therapy.
Patients in that latter group received acupuncture, but the needles were inserted at random points on the skin rather than traditional acupuncture sites. And while the needles were attached to the electrical device, it was not actually turned on.
The findings suggest that true electro-acupuncture may offer at least short-term pain relief to knee arthritis sufferers, according to the researchers, led by Dr. Sadia Ahsin of the Army Medical College Rawalpindi in Pakistan.
What does acupuncture do
Acupuncture has been used for more than 2,000 years in Chinese medicine to treat a wide variety of ailments. According to traditional medicine, specific acupuncture points on the skin are connected to internal pathways that conduct energy, or qi (“chee”), and stimulating these points with a fine needle promotes the healthy flow of qi.
Modern research has suggested that acupuncture may help ease pain by altering signals among nerve cells or affecting the release of various chemicals of the central nervous system, such as pain-killing endorphins.
In their study, Ahsin and colleagues found that electro-acupuncture appeared to raise patients’ blood levels of endorphins and lower their levels of the hormone cortisol, which tends to rise during physical or mental stress. So it’s possible that these changes explain the greater pain relief, according to the researchers.
Larger, longer-term studies are still needed to see whether electro-acupuncture can have lasting benefits — and to find out how often patients would need treatment to gain those benefits.
For now, Ahsin’s team writes, the current findings suggest that, for people who are interested in trying it, electro-acupuncture can be added to conventional treatment for knee arthritis.
Is it safe?
Acupuncture and electro-acupuncture are generally regarded as low-risk therapies. Among patients in this study, there were no major side effects apart from bruising at the needle site in three patients, the researchers note.
The season of change is finally here and heaven knows no one appreciates like Melbournians, I think it’s actually the reason we stay so cheery during the winter now, there a couple of things that we get as a bonus to the feeling of sun on our face and If I warn you about it now, maybe you can enjoy the change!
With the sun we also get…
Wind, not so affectionately referred to in Chinese Medicine as the “bearer of a hundred diseases…” demands particular respect in early spring because our protective energy, like the rest of us, is usually a little weak after winter. So,
• leave your winter clothes on until well past the start of the warmer weather because the sun is out well before our environment is warm,
• carry a scarf or wear a collar so you can cover your neck on windy days, it’s the area most susceptible to “wind invasion”,
• if you have a history of health problems in Spring it is much easier for us to treat them before the symptoms come,
And yes, I’m talking about hay fever, and asthma, and eczema or any other skin problems because it’s the skin and the Lungs that often show the first signs of an “external wind invasion”.
“Stirring internal wind” is another risk of windy weather; ask the school teachers what happens to the children on windy days! Now adults are also affected, so symptoms related to the Liver function in Chinese Medicine may arise for example, insomnia, trembling hands, vertigo, migraines, some arthritic conditions and mood swings to name a few.
We can give you herbal medicine; there are many pre-made formulas at the clinic to relieve pain from the sinus to the knees! And for you really tough cases out there, and this hay fever season is going to provide us with many, we can make you a custom formula specific to your individual requirements to give you the best possible chance of enjoying the weather?
Some more about Hay fever; it’s a hypersensitivity reaction of our immune system to air-borne substances like pollen, dust, moulds, plants and chemicals. It is medically known as allergic rhinitis and consists primarily of runny nose, and blocked at the same time (about annoying a symptom as possible), sneezing and itchy red eyes.
Many of these allergens may also be triggers for asthmatics and these symptoms can quickly develop into an infection of the respiratory tract.
Allergies can run in families so if you suffer your children may also. The above air-borne substances are allergens that can cause the body to produce antibodies that release histamine. Histamines can cause the allergic reaction.
Avoiding allergens can keep the symptoms at bay. (But who wants to stay inside when the sun is finally here?) Conventional therapies call for antihistamines, decongestants, oral steroids, corticosteroid sprays & bronchodilator inhaler (for asthma), and allergy injections. But using Chinese medicine may be all you need to relieve the symptoms and if you start treatment in the off season, can treat the underlying imbalances that cause the allergies in the first place!
So use preventative medicine in spring and get in before the symptoms come!
A German research found that acupuncture treatment for lower back pain is more effective.
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German doctors found that acupuncture treatment for lower back pain is more effective (almost twice) than the conventional therapy, a combination of drugs, physiotherapy and exercises.
Dr. Michael Haake from the University of Regensburg, who presided over the clinic trial, said: “Acupuncture provide a effective way to treat lower back pain, and has less effects.”
Acupuncture is effective
In the clinical trials, Dr. Haake and his colleagues recruited 1162 patients with chronic low back pain. These patient in average have 8 years of lower back pain. These 1162 patients were divided into three groups and received 30 minutes treatment twice per week for a total five weeks. One group received acupuncture treatment; the second group received “Sham acupuncture” treatment; The last group received conventional routine treatment, a combination of drugs, physiotherapy and exercises.
6 months after treatment, a questionnaire has sent to patient who received the treatment. Of which nearly half of the patient who received acupuncture treatment (47.6%) claimed the treatment is effective, compare to the conventional therapy group, only 27.4% found the treatment helpful.
The result showed that lower back pain improved after acupuncture treatment for at least 6 months. effectiveness of acupuncture was almost twice that of conventional therapy.
Researchers believe acupuncture may change the mechanism of brain receiving pain signals, or acupuncture may stimulate brain to release a natural analgesic substances leading to pain relief.
