Acupuncture for Uterine Fibroids

Uterine fibroids are less known by their medical term uterine leiomyomata. They are abnormal growths developing in the uterus, specifically in its muscular tissue. Uterine fibroids may vary in size and they may develop singly or in clusters.

Uterine fibroids are the most typical types of non-cancerous tumors. They usually develop in women of childbearing age. In terms of ratio of occurrence, these conditions develop in 3 out of 4 women in the United States. The risk of uterine fibroids decreases significantly after women enter their menopausal phase. They are also not considered an indication or a risk for uterine cancer.

What Causes Uterine Fibroids?

Medical researchers still have no answer as to what causes uterine fibroids although they believe that certain hormonal and genetic factors may be responsible for their occurrence. The progesterone and estrogen hormones, for example, can activate the development of uterine fibroids. Some of these factors can increase the risk of uterine fibroids:

-Not having ever birthed a child
-Family history of uterine fibroids
-Obesity

The occurrence of uterine fibroids is higher in African American women than in any ethnic group with them having a three to five times greater likelihood compared to white women of developing this condition.

Symptoms of Uterine Fibroids

A lot of women suffering from uterine fibroids may manifest no symptoms of this disorder while other women may suffer from the following symptoms:

Reproductive issues – early labor, multiple miscarriages and infertility
Lower back pain
Pain during sex
Frequent urgency to urinate
Constipation
Pelvic pain or pressure
Fullness sensation in the lower stomach
Bleeding between menses
Painful or heavy periods

Pregnancy and Uterine Fibroids

Having uterine fibroids does not mean that women with this condition cannot attain pregnancy naturally; however, there are sufferers who may find it very difficult to conceive. Moreover, certain pregnant women who have uterine fibroids may have a slightly enhanced likelihood for experiencing issues such as abnormal fetal position, premature labor and birth and miscarriage. More often than not, however, uterine fibroids do not contribute to pregnancy complications.

Treatment for Uterine Fibroids

Certain complications can arise due to uterine fibroids (like anemia due to heave bleeding); therefore, the need to consult with your doctor is important especially if you begin to show symptoms of this problem. Conventional therapies for uterine fibroids usually entail the use of drugs that allay symptoms and retard the progress of fibroids. Other modalities may include surgery (myomectomy), which excises the fibroids but does not touch the parts of the uterus that are healthy.
.
Alternative Therapies for Uterine Fibroids

Acupuncture – a study published in 2010 showed that those who have conducted randomized controlled trials that compared acupuncture with other forms of therapies, like medication for the proper control uterine fibroids found those studies not sufficiently well-designed to merit acupuncture’s effectiveness. So they concluded that acupuncture’s efficacy for the control of uterine fibroids still has not been sufficiently proven enough.

Traditional Chinese Medicine – an initial study published in 2002 revealed that some of the women subjects suffering from uterine fibroids were given treatments like guided imagery, bodywork (body therapy) and traditional Chinese medicine for 6 months. The results of the study showed that the fibroids shrank and some have stopped growing altogether in 22 of the subjects while the only three in the control group showed significant improvement in their condition.

Green Tea – in 2010, a study involving animal subjects was published. The study showed that a treatment using green tea extract for a period of eight weeks indicated a substantial decrease in the weight and volume of uterine fibroids in a group of mice.

Zuobiao (Roy) Yuan is a licensed acupuncturist and doctor of chinese medicine in Edina, MN.