It’s an old-world technique that’s seeing a lot of new-world success, particularly in the area of fertility.
The use of acupuncture, an ancient Chinese medical practice dating back 3,000 to 5,000 years, is still around today because it works, said Dr. Gregory Koo, a family medical practitioner and trained acupuncturist with St. Elizabeth Physicians.
Koo is board certified in integrative medicine, which means he blends modern science with holistic medicine to help the whole person. He works with patients who are having trouble conceiving to determine the source of their problem, which isn’t necessarily limited to issues with the reproductive system.
Sometimes patients are too stressed to conceive, Koo said, or have just decided that they’re unable to conceive, which becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Healthier through acupuncture
In addition to treating any underlying issues such as anxiety, Koo and other acupuncturists who help women with fertility issues “prep” the uterus to conceive by placing needles around the pelvis to “prime the uterus to be healthy,” he said. Those needles alert the woman’s brain that it needs to work on that area of the body, and the brain then responds, setting up an anti-inflammatory response and reducing tensions so that, if repeated over time, acupuncture treatments help the body heal the problem area.
Oftentimes, acupuncture is used as a supplement to traditional fertility therapies.
The result when using acupuncture to conceive? A 30 to 40 percent success rate, which is, according to Koo, “much high than regular medicine success rates and virtually painless.”
It doesn’t hurt that acupuncture is relatively cheap in comparison to most modern-day techniques and much less invasive.
“I would use acupuncture for almost everything instead of regular medicine remedies, aside from the obvious exceptions such as surgeries,” Koo said. “It works for most conditions, and it works extremely well.”
