Acupuncture for PMS and Morning Sickness

The Round Clinic's acupuncturist and reflexologist, Galit Cohen Nagar, answers a few questions on how acupuncture can help with some common women's problems.

1. Can acupuncture help with my PMS symptoms?

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a group of symptoms linked to the menstrual cycle. It causes a range of physical symptoms such as fatigue, bloating, aches before and during menstruation as well as emotional symptoms such as mood swings or irritability.

According to Chinese Medicine, it indicates an imbalance in the body’s organs.

In order to choose the right treatment for each woman, an idea of the disharmony is made using pulse, tongue and body palpation techniques. All those tools together help to determine which imbalance is present and which organ pathway needs to be stimulated.

In most cases of PMS, the acupuncturist will find a disharmony in the liver as in TCM the liver is responsible for the free flow of QI and blood throughout the entire body.

Two more very important organs are the spleen and kidneys - which contain the essential substance for the body energy. There will often other symptoms which will need to be taken into consideration to perfect the treatment.

2. My wife suffers from morning sickness, is acupuncture safe during pregnancy?

Nausea and vomiting are commonly experienced by women in early pregnancy, even up to 70%. It generally occurs in the first trimester, between 6 and 12 weeks. The symptoms are associated with rising levels of pregnancy hormones, but fatigue and stress can also contribute.

Clinical studies have repeatedly shown acupuncture to have remarkable results in decreasing both nausea and vomiting and totally safe to use during pregnancy.

The treatment will be aimed at strengthening the energetic function of the digestive system and correcting any underlying visceral disharmonies especially between liver and stomach.

Acupuncture does not only help morning sickness during pregnancy but is also found very effective for heartburn, cravings, anxiety and headaches.