How can Acupuncture help with PCOS

Acupuncture can be a very effective method to enhance reproductive function in women with PCOS, which is a specific case of ovulatory dysfunction.

Acupuncture can be used alone to enhance female reproductive function; it can also be used in tandem with other therapies, e.g. supplements, herbs and even clomid/letrozole.

The points made below do not just apply to a condition of PCOS. It is proof that acupuncture can help if:

1. Your menstrual cycle is not regular
2. You have delayed cycles or amenorrhea
3. Your lining is thin
4. Your period is scant and much lighter than previously
5. You have mid-cycle bleeding, metromenorrhagia, or long duration of spotting before your menses

Basically, acupuncture helps to regulate the cycle, facilitates ovulation, and increases circulation in your reproductive organs.

Here’s the Research!

Acupuncture is a viable treatment for PCOS because it can positively affect the ovaries, the HPO axis as well as the autonomic nervous system.

• Increase ovarian blood flow (OBF).
• Normalize the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Ovarian (HPO) axis.
• Reduce stress-induced reproductive dysfunction.

By reducing high MSNA, acupuncture can regulate ovulation and increase menstrual frequency.

• Reduce high muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA).
• Facilitate regular ovulation and increase menstrual frequency.

Acupuncture offers yet another layer of treatment for metabolic issues faced by PCOS women.

• Acupuncture assists in weight loss.
• Acupuncture helps regulate lipid metabolism.
• Acupuncture is able to reduce insulin resistance.
• Acupuncture is able to reduce leptin resistance.

And as mentioned earlier, acupuncture can be used as an adjunct to first or second line interventions like Clomid or Gonadotropins, mainly to reduce bearable side-effects headaches or abdominal distension, or more serious conditions like ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS).