Imagine waking up with agonizing, stabbing cramps as your lower stomach, back, hips and thighs are pulsing with pain. The dreaded time of the month, your period, is making its debut. Imagine having to have to deal with these intense cramping sensations before and during your period, while possibly having pain during the normal functions of sex, passing a bowel movement, peeing, or even, walking. Maybe you have been trying to conceive and consult with a fertility specialist, finding out you have Endometriosis. What the heck is Endometriosis? We have all heard it is painful and there are not many options in curing the condition.
In fact, Endometriosis is becoming more prevalent effecting about 5 to 7 million women within the United States. What exactly is Endometriosis? Endometriosis occurs when the endometrium tissue lining our uterus is located in abnormal places and cannot be properly released during our menses. Normally, the endometrium tissue is “pinched”, or “sloughed off”, passing as the reddish tissue.
What are the abnormal areas the endometrial tissue can be located: on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, the uterus, and rarely-the abdominal cavity. So what if this tissue is located in these areas? Well, remember-this tissue has a “sloughing off” activity. When the onset of the period starts, its job is to come off the uterine lining to be released. Imagine the Endometrial tissue located in the abnormal locations and not being able to be passed out in the form of menses. The contracting of the tissue may contribute to the pain related to Endometriosis. Better yet, this tissue may block the normal functions of ovulation, adequate blood flow to the uterus, and others; which can contribute to infertility.
If I have painful periods known as dysmennorhea; do I have Endometriosis? Not always. The level, intensity, and duration of pain is not a factor in how severe the Endometriosis can be. Some women do not feel much cramping and pain and have severe Endometriosis invading many locations in the pelvic area; while others wake up to the onset of their periods with agonizing and debilitating pain and have mild Endometriosis. The severity of Endometriosis is determined by the level of where and how much of the Endometrial tissue is located outside of the endometrial line of the uterus. Usually, this is determined through a series of testing such as Pelvic exam, Ultrasound, MRI, and/or Labroscopy.
In Western Medicine, the exact cause of Endometriosis is still unknown. Some ideas come into play in how the Endometrial tissue becomes located in abnormal areas, which include Retrograde menstruation, transformation of peritoneal cells and/or embrynoic cells, causes by surgical scar, and autoimmune conditions. The Retrograde menstruation is like having your period flow backwards. The endometrium tissue and cells are supposed to flow down and out the vaginal opening to bleed as our period. Sometimes in Retrograde menstruation, the menstruation flows backwards into the uterus, cervix, and fallopian tubes. Did you know there is an opening between the ovary and fallopian tube? This can lead to a possible area where the endometrial tissue can go outside the uterus into the pelvic cavity.
What does it mean for the peritoneal cells and/or embrynoic cells transform into endometrial cells? The peritoneal cells are located outside the uterus in the peritoneal cavity (part of the abdomen). Basically, the peritoneal and/or embryonic cells are cells outside of our lady bits that can possibly transform into the endometrial cells by the influence of hormones and/or immune factors. What about surgery? It is possible for the endometrial tissue to become attached to the surgical scar tissue from a C-section, or any other surgery involving the uterus.
How does Chinese Medicine Help with Endometriosis?
Chinese Medicine looks at Endometriosis a bit differently. It takes into consideration how the imbalance of this abnormal tissue location effects the other organs, tissues, and period health. Chinese medicine can help balance hormones so they do not have outside influence on the endometrial tissue, restore healthy flow of blood and nutrients to the uterus, regulates monthly cycle, decrease pain and tissue tension, and more.
How does Chinese Medicine work? TCM helps address the symptoms while correcting the root cause of the imbalance. When it comes to dis-ease, TCM helps restore ease within the body systems by providing relief. When it comes to the health of the Uterus, TCM looks at the health and flow of the Liver, Kidney, and Spleen organs, while considering the flow of blood and qi (oxygen and cellular gases) along the channels.
The Livers regulates and distributes our energy levels, filters and renews the blood, takes out the unneeded hormones (sex and stress hormones) by pooping them out, and provides healthy blood supply to the uterus. The Kidneys serve as our foundation of health. They contribute to hormonal and stress balance through the adrenal glands. In TCM, the Spleen is both the physical spleen organ and pancreas within the body. The Spleen’s job is transform the energy extracted from food and transport these nutrients via the blood.
When it comes to Endometriosis, there is a common pattern of Blood stasis. The Endometrial tissue is stagnant and not moving out of the body via menses, so Blood stasis in the Pelvic area causes either sharp pain, or blocks the flow of uterine health. Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine are vital to treating Endometriosis. The Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine combination has been shown to decrease pain of Endometriosis (4,5), harmonize hormones, regulate period by making it lighter/less cramps, increase fertility (3), and even decrease the abnormal endometrial tissue (2).
How does Acupuncture help? Acupuncture provides a local and systemetic relief. When using Acupuncture locally, it produces an immune system response, relaxes the tension within the tissues, increase local blood flow to provide the nutrients need to restore function, and release toxins to be flushed out. Acupuncture directly influences the nervous system and mid-brain. Here, Acupuncture helps retrain the brain to stop being in pain mode and release the enkephalins, endorphins, and other neurotransmitters to provide pain relief, uplift mood, and balance the hormonal system known as the Endocrine system.
While Conventional Medicine offers hormonal therapy, pain management, or even, ‘conservative surgery’ through labroscopy; if one stops some of these options-the Endometriosis may return (1). The hormonal therapy can help manage the hormones by decreasing the thickness and discomfort of the Endometrial tissue influenced by hormonal imbalance. According to Mayo Clinic, once one stops hormonal therapy, they can expect the symptoms to return (1). Chinese Herbal Medicine may provide comparable results to hormonal therapy such as gestrinone and danazol with fewer side effects (6).
According to Flower A. et al (2012), “Surgical and hormonal treatment of endometriosis have unpleasant side effects and high rates of relapse. In China, treatment of endometriosis using Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is routine and considerable research into the role of CHM in alleviating pain, promoting fertility, and preventing relapse has taken place”. Through their review, “post-surgical administration of CHM may have comparable benefits to gestrinone but with fewer side effects. Oral CHM may have a better overall treatment effect than danazol; it may be more effective in relieving dysmenorrhoea and shrinking adnexal masses when used in conjunction with a CHM enema” (6).
Chinese Medicine provides natural and non-invasive treatment options for Endometriosis by decreasing pain, balancing hormones, and regulating the period. Chinese Medicine is safe to use alongside Conventional therapies and addresses the underlying cause of the Endometriosis. The focus of the treating Endometriosis is YOU, not your condition. The goal of Chinese Medicine is to help restore and provide a quality of life that you desire without having Endometriosis get in the way.
Danielle Dickshinski, L.Ac.
Resources:
- “Endometriosis” By Mayo Clinic. <https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/endometriosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20354656>.
- Ruihua Zhong, Aying Ma, Jianping Zhu, et al., “Kuntai Capsule Inhibited Endometriosis via Inducing Apoptosis in a Rat Model,” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, vol. 2016, Article ID 5649169, 11 pages, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/5649169.
- Ding, Z., & Lian, F. (2015). Traditional Chinese medical herbs staged therapy in infertile women with endometriosis: a clinical study. International journal of clinical and experimental medicine, 8(8), 14085-9.
- Xu, Y., Zhao, W., Li, T., Zhao, Y., Bu, H., & Song, S. (2017). Effects of acupuncture for the treatment of endometriosis-related pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PloS one, 12(10), e0186616. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0186616
- Wyane PM et al. (2008). Japanese-style acupuncture for endometriosis-related pelvic pain in adolescents and young women: results of a randomize sham-controlled trial. J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol. 2008 Oct;21(5):247-57. doi: 10.1016/j.jpag.2007.07.008.
- Flower A. et al. (2012). Chinese Herbal Medicine for Endometriosis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012 May 16;(5):CD006568. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD006568.pub3.
