Authored by Marian Kimball Eichinger, LAc
Based on my own rudimentary calculations, women in our American society have the potential get their period about 424 times throughout their lifetime. This is based on a menarche of 13, menopause at 50 and two full term pregnancies. With an average bleeding time of 6 days, that is 2,544 days of our lives managing the blood flow and the accompanying symptoms. And then feel free to add another 1,696 days to account for the potential four days of pre-menstrual symptoms giving us a grand total of 4,240 days of managing our menses.
Numbers, of course, will vary but the point is that we as women spend a great deal of our time with menstruation, and because of this we should like to have this experience be, well, if not pleasant, at the very least not painful, stressful or otherwise any more distracting than it has to be. Unfortunately, for many women and girls, their period is a time of cramping, breast tenderness, depression, irritability, back pain, headaches, fatigue, heavy blood flow and bloating, to name a few. Or perhaps she doesn’t get a period at all or her period is irregular, unpredictable, late, early, or scanty, or there is spotting between periods. Whatever the case, acupuncture can help.
Through the paradigm of Traditional Chinese Medical (TCM) theory, I look at the body and all its many systems and relationships holistically. Issues with menstruation, for example, are not localized solely within the confines of the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and the uterus. In TCM, all of the major Yin organ systems (Liver, Heart, Lung, Spleen and Kidney), have a starring role in regulating a woman’s menstrual cycle. If one of these systems is not functioning the way it should the affects can be twofold: one possibility is that menstruation could be affected, and another possibility is that one or more of the other organ systems could be affected which in turn could affect menstruation. Nothing happens in a vacuum in Chinese Medicine and the challenge is to identify the root cause of any condition, which in cases with menstruation is to identify which of the organ systems are not doing its job.
Numbers, of course, will vary but the point is that we as women spend a great deal of our time with menstruation, and because of this we should like to have this experience be, well, if not pleasant, at the very least not painful, stressful or otherwise any more distracting than it has to be. Unfortunately, for many women and girls, their period is a time of cramping, breast tenderness, depression, irritability, back pain, headaches, fatigue, heavy blood flow and bloating, to name a few. Or perhaps she doesn’t get a period at all or her period is irregular, unpredictable, late, early, or scanty, or there is spotting between periods. Whatever the case, acupuncture can help.
Through the paradigm of Traditional Chinese Medical (TCM) theory, I look at the body and all its many systems and relationships holistically. Issues with menstruation, for example, are not localized solely within the confines of the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and the uterus. In TCM, all of the major Yin organ systems (Liver, Heart, Lung, Spleen and Kidney), have a starring role in regulating a woman’s menstrual cycle. If one of these systems is not functioning the way it should the affects can be twofold: one possibility is that menstruation could be affected, and another possibility is that one or more of the other organ systems could be affected which in turn could affect menstruation. Nothing happens in a vacuum in Chinese Medicine and the challenge is to identify the root cause of any condition, which in cases with menstruation is to identify which of the organ systems are not doing its job.
Menstruation is all about blood. The Heart, Liver and Spleen organ systems all influence blood. The Heart governs the vessels, the Spleen creates blood and the Liver stores blood. Blood deficiency can cause delayed or absent periods. Stagnated blood can cause painful periods or absent periods. Cold blood can cause scanty periods or infertility. Hot blood can cause early period and profuse bleeding.
Menstruation is also all about Qi. Kidney Qi is our primordial Qi or the Qi we were born with and it nourishes and expedites Qi to the other organ systems to ensure their proper function. The Lung disperses Qi throughout the body and descends Qi making it a crucial player in uteral function, while the Liver assures the smooth flow of Qi. Qi deficiency can cause early period or flooding. Qi stagnation can cause irregular period, breast tenderness or PMS symptoms. Qi sinking can cause uterine prolapse.
It is the seemingly unrelated symptoms that help determine which organ system is injured and causing blood or Qi dysfunction. For example, palpitations point to the Heart system; shortness of breath and sadness points to Lung; poor appetite, fatigue and overthinking point to Spleen; red or dry eyes, irritability and anger points to Liver; and low back or knee pain or weakness point to Kidney. As stated above, sometimes it is just one system that is not functioning properly and sometimes it is more than one. The good news is that acupuncture and herbal therapies can help by regulating, balancing, nourishing the organ systems thereby generating, lifting, propelling, dispersing, warming, and cooling the blood and Qi.
If you have issues or problems with your menstrual cycle, make an appointment and see how acupuncture can help.
It is the seemingly unrelated symptoms that help determine which organ system is injured and causing blood or Qi dysfunction. For example, palpitations point to the Heart system; shortness of breath and sadness points to Lung; poor appetite, fatigue and overthinking point to Spleen; red or dry eyes, irritability and anger points to Liver; and low back or knee pain or weakness point to Kidney. As stated above, sometimes it is just one system that is not functioning properly and sometimes it is more than one. The good news is that acupuncture and herbal therapies can help by regulating, balancing, nourishing the organ systems thereby generating, lifting, propelling, dispersing, warming, and cooling the blood and Qi.
If you have issues or problems with your menstrual cycle, make an appointment and see how acupuncture can help.
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