How Can Acupuncture Help With Pelvic Pain?
How can acupuncture help with pelvic pain?
(And why this is so important for those with endo in Torquay and the surf coast!)
When asked how acupuncture works for pelvic pain, I usually say that acupuncture can do 3 things.
Firstly, it can help with blood flow to the pelvis. This is critical as it will relieve muscle tension, prevent the spasming of muscles, and will also assist with healing. In my practice of acupuncture, I use distal needling, where I needle points mostly on arms and legs that work through nervous system pathways to improve blood flow to key areas of the pelvis. This is all dependent on each patient’s individual pain presentation.
The second key factor is that acupuncture can help to reduce inflammation. This is especially important for pelvic pain patients with bloating, endo belly, constipation and / or diarrhea, etc. Inflammation is a driver of pain, so by easing the inflammation, we also should be able to reduce pain.
And lastly, and possibly most importantly, my belief is that acupuncture is great for pain sensitisation (also known as central sensitisation). Pain sensitisation refers to the pain pathway that is triggered when chronic pain is experienced and is thought to play a central part in pain conditions that are present for a period of 3 months or more (i.e. most people’s pelvic pain!).
This can be explained by saying that pain usually starts when the brain senses there is an issue. The brain can decide this for example, if it picks up on an anatomical issue in the pelvis. For instance, it may detect that there are some low-level endometriosis adhesions. It could also be something as simple as detecting that blood flow is compromised due to muscle tension. The brain then triggers a pain response. This pain response causes stress in our nervous system, putting us into “fight or flight”. When we are in this heightened state, our brain is more likely to perceive any new stimuli as a threat and prompt pain. This can happen even though the initial tissue damage (if there was any) may no longer be an issue. This can explain for instance, why so many endometriosis patients continue to have pain after laparoscopic surgery (although this is often complex and multi-faceted).
If you are interested in learning how acupuncture may be able to help you in your pelvic pain journey, please book in with me via the link below, or send me an email via the contact page.
LET’S CONNECT
Naomi Jankowski is a Chinese Medicine practitioner working in Melbourne, with special interest in the use of Tung acupuncture for pelvic pain management.