Acupuncture & Massage Therapy Research|Registered Massage Therapy, Acupuncture, Elements of Health Centre, Victoria, BC

Female infertility

Effect of acupuncture on symptoms of anxiety in women undergoing in vitro fertilisation: a prospective randomised controlled study.

Conclusions:
The results indicate that acupuncture can reduce anxiety symptoms observed by the reduction of psychological parameters of women undergoing IVF. Further evidence should be sought as to whether acupuncture might be a complementary option for patients undergoing IVF.

Authors: Daniela Isoyama, Emerson Barchi Cordts, Angela Mara Bentes de Souza van Niewegen, Waldemar de Almeida Pereira de Carvalho, Simone Tiemi Matsumura, Caio Parente Barbosa
-Acupuncture in medicine : journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society

Acupuncture improves Clinical Pregnancy Rates (CPR) and Live Birth Rates (LBR) among women undergoing IVF.

Conclusions: Acupuncture improves CPR and LBR among women undergoing IVF based on the results of studies that do not include the Streitberger control. The Streitberger control may not be an inactive control. More positive effects from using acupuncture in IVF can be expected if an appropriate control and more reasonable acupuncture programs are used.

Cui Hong Zheng, M.D.; Ph.D.a, Guang Ying Huang, M.D., Ph.D.a; Ming Min Zhang, M.D., Ph.D.b; Wei Wang, M.D., Ph.D.c.. Fertility and Sterility. 1-11-2012.

Effects of Acupuncture on LIF and IL-12 in Rats of Implantation Failure

Conclusion: According to the study, Acupuncture could improve the poor receptive state of endometrium by promoting LIF and IL-12 secretion to improve blastocyst implantation.

Gui, Juan; Xiong, Fan; Li, Jing; Huang, Guangying. Effects of Acupuncture on LIF and IL-12 in Rats of Implantation Failure. American Journal of Reproductive Immunology. Am J Reprod Immunol. 1600-0897. 2012.

Increase of success rate for women undergoing embryo transfer by transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation

Conclusion:
Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation, especially double TEAS, significantly improved the clinical outcome of ET.

◦ Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Neurobiology, Peking University Health Science Center, Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Public Health, Beijing, People's Republic of China

Acupuncture for Infertility: Is It An Effective Therapy?

Conclusion: Most of the studies suggested that acupuncture plays a positive role in the management of infertility including ovulation dysfunction, IVF-ET, and male infertility. Acupuncture may improve ovulation via modulation of the central and peripheral nervous system, the neuroendocrine and endocrine system, the ovarian blood flow, and metabolism. Acupuncture can improve the outcome of IVF-ET, and the mechanisms may be related to an increased uterine blood flow, inhibition of uterine motility, and a reduction of depression, anxiety and stress. Its effect in modulating immune function also suggests helpfulness in improving the outcome of IVF-ET. Acupuncture may play a positive role in male infertility.

HUANG Dong-mei (黄冬梅)1, HUANG Guang-ying (黄光英)1, LU Fu-er (陆付耳)1, Dieterle Stefan2,3, Neuer Andreas3, and Greb Robert3

Male infertility

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship of male age and DNA integrity in men presenting for investigation of infertility. We found that men 45 years and older had significantly greater DNA fragmentation than younger men.

Fertil Steril. 2006 Feb;85(2):496-9. Moskovtsev SI, Willis J, Mullen JB.

Effects of glycol ethers on male fertility

Conclusions: Glycol ether exposure was related to low motile sperm count in men attending fertility clinics. This suggests that, at the time of the study, glycol ethers continued to be a hazard for male fertility.

Nicola Cherry, Harry Moore, Roseanne McNamee, Allan Pacey, Gary Burgess, Julie-Ann Clyma, Martin Dippnall, Helen Baillie, Andrew Povey

Soy food and isoflavone intake in relation to semen quality parameters among men from an infertility clinic

Conclusions: These data suggest that higher intake of soy foods and soy isoflavones is associated with lower sperm concentration.

Jorge E. Chavarro, Thomas L. Toth, Sonita M. Sadio and Russ Hauser

Acupuncture boosts sperm quality in infertile men

Conclusions: In conjunction with ART or even for reaching natural fertility potential, acupuncture treatment is a simple, noninvasive method that can improve sperm quality.

Fertility and Sterility 2005; 84: 141-7

Carnitine therapy promising in idiopathic azoospermia

Conclusions: long-term carnitine therapy is effective in improving sperm function and fertilization capacity and merits further investigation.

Fertility and Sterility 2005; 84: 662-71

Pregnancy

Yoga and massage therapy reduce prenatal depression and prematurity.

Eighty-four prenatally depressed women were randomly assigned to yoga, massage therapy or standard prenatal care control groups to determine the relative effects of yoga and massage therapy on prenatal depression and neonatal outcomes. Following 12 weeks of twice weekly yoga or massage therapy sessions (20 min each) both therapy groups versus the control group had a greater decrease on depression, anxiety and back and leg pain scales and a greater increase on a relationship scale.

Electroacupuncture for cervical ripening prior to labor induction: a randomized clinical trial

CONCLUSIONS:

Our results showed that electroacupuncture can be used to obtain cervical ripening, with similar results as compared with misoprostol, with a significantly higher frequency of vaginal deliveries and without occurrence of obstetric complications.

Gribel GP, Coca-Velarde LG, Moreira de Sá RA.
Maternidade Escola Hospital, Serviço de Obstetrícia, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rua das Laranjeiras, 180 (Laranjeiras), Rio de Janeiro, RJ 22240-003, Brazil. gisele.gribel@ig.com.br

Acupuncture and care interventions for the relief of inflammatory symptoms of the breast during lactation

KEY CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

If acupuncture treatment is acceptable to the mother, this, together with care interventions such as correction of breast feeding position and babies' attachment to the breast, might be a more expedient and less invasive choice of treatment than the use of oxytocin nasal spray. Midwives, nurses or medical practitioners with specialist competence in breast feeding should be the primary care providers for mothers with inflammatory symptoms of the breast during lactation. The use of antibiotics for inflammatory symptoms of the breast should be closely monitored in order to help the global community reduce resistance development among bacterial pathogens.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Floor 2, Helsingborg Hospital, Helsingborg, SE-251 87 Sweden. linda.kvist@helsingborgslasarett.se

Duration and exclusiveness of breastfeeding and childhood asthma-related symptoms.

Compared to children who were breastfed for 6 months, those who were never breastfed had overall increased risks of wheezing, shortness of breath, dry cough and persistent phlegm during the first four years.

Sonnenschein-van der Voort AM, Jaddoe VV, van der Valk RJ, Willemsen SP, Hofman A, Moll HA, de Jongste JC, Duijts L.Source: Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam The Netherlands.

Suboptimal Vitamin D Levels in Pregnant Women Despite Supplement Use

Conclusion: Vitamin D insufficiency was not uncommon in this group of pregnant women. Season and ethnicity were determinants of 25OHD but the magnitude of their effect was not large. Most women took vitamin D-containing supplements but this did not provide much protection against insufficiency. Consideration should be given to increasing the amount of vitamin D in prenatal supplements.

Wangyang Li, Timothy J. Green, Sheila M. Innis, Susan I. Barr, Susan J. Whiting, Antonia Shand, Peter von Dadelszen

Injuries and pain

Acupuncture Relieves Gynecologic Surgery Pain

Acupuncture reduces post-operative pain following gynecologic and abdominal surgeries. A new study published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology concludes that, “Pain control after hospital discharge is suboptimal for many women after both vaginal and abdominal surgery.” The researchers add that there is a need to improve post-operative at-home pain control measures, “Given increasingly rapid hospital discharge….” Acupuncture helps to improve recovery times and improves at-home pain control.

Acupuncture is as effective as low-dose prednisolone for mild-to-moderate carpal tunnel syndrome.

Conclusions: Short-term acupuncture treatment is as effective as short-term low-dose prednisolone for mild-to-moderate CTS. For those who do have an intolerance or contraindication for oral steroid or for those who do not opt for early surgery, acupuncture treatment provides an alternative choice.

Abstract Source: Clin J Pain. 2009 May;25(4):327-33. PMID: 19590482
Abstract Author(s):Chang MH, Hsieh CL, Hwang KL, Li TC, Wang NH, Yang CP, Yu SC

Acupuncture versus metoprolol in migraine prophylaxis: a randomized trial of trigger point inactivation.

Conclusions. Trigger point inactivation by dry needling is a valuable supplement to the list of migraine prophylactic tools, being equipotent to metoprolol in the influence on frequency and duration (but not severity) of attacks, and superior in terms of negative side-effects.

Hesse J, Mogelvang B, Simonsen H. Journal of Internal Medicine. 1994; 235: 451-456.

Acupuncture Effective For Chronic Headaches

Conclusions: Acupuncture can lead to persisting, clinically relevant benefits for primary care patients with chronic headache, particularly migraine.

Vickers AJ, et al. BMJ Epub 2004 Mar 15.

Source: http://www.acupuncture.com/newsletters/m_may04/res.htm#1#1

Acupuncture and Tibial Stress Syndrome (Shin Splints)

Conclusions: Athletes in the study group receiving only acupuncture and athletes in the study group receiving acupuncture and sports medicine received the most pain relief, were least hindered by pain during sporting and non-sporting activities, and felt overall that the treatments were more effective than those reporting in the group receiving Sports medicine only.

Matt Callison, M.S., L.Ac. works at the University of California, San Diego RIMAC Athletic Training Center.

General Health

Women with PCOS benefited from acupuncture

Acupuncture and physical activity improved hormone levels and menstrual patterns in women with polycystic ovary syndrome, according to a study conducted by researchers in Sweden.

Jedel E. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2011;300:37-45.

The efficacy of acupuncture in treating urge and mixed incontinence in women: a pilot study

Conclusions: Subjects randomized to the true acupuncture group had a mean 63.30% (median = 65.99%) reduction in daytime accidents/day at 1 week postacupuncture and 67.47% reduction (median = 75.76%) at 4 weeks postacupuncture. In contrast, the mean reduction in daytime accidents was 18.88% (median = 19.64%) at 1 week and 16.67% (median = 0%) at 4 weeks post-sham acupuncture.

J Wound Ostomy Continence Nurs. 2009 Nov-Dec;36(6):661-70.

The ACTIV Study: Acupuncture Treatment in Provoked Vestibulodynia

Conclusions. Effect sizes and qualitative analyses of practitioner-initiated interviews showed overall positive effects of acupuncture, but there were statistically significant improvements only in pain with manual genital stimulation and helplessness. These findings require replication in a larger, controlled trial before any definitive conclusions on the efficacy of acupuncture for PVD can be made. Curran S, Brotto LA, Fisher H, Knudson G, and Cohen T.

Stephanie Curran, R TCM P,* Lori A. Brotto, PhD,† Harris Fisher, R TCM P,* Gail Knudson, MD,‡ and Trevor Cohen, MD§

November 2009 Journal of Sexual Medicine

Acupuncture for the Treatment of Vasomotor Symptoms in Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Hormone Suppression Treatment

Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that adding acupuncture to breast cancer treatment regimens may establish an integrative approach that is more effective in managing symptoms due to treatment with fewer side effects than conventional pharmacotherapy treatment.

E. M. Walker¹, A. I. Rodriguez², B. Kohn², J. Pegg¹, R. M. Bell², R. A. Levine²

A randomized controlled pilot study of acupuncture for postmenopausal hot flashes: effect on nocturnal hot flashes and sleep quality

Conclusions: Acupuncture significantly reduced the severity of nocturnal hot flashes compared with placebo. Given the strength of correlations between improvements in sleep and reductions in nocturnal hot flashes, further exploration is merited.

Fertility and Sterility: September 2006, Volume 86, Issue 3, p700-710

Breast Cancer

New meta-analysis shows carotenoids (e.g., carrots, pumpkin, green beans, etc.) protective against breast cancer.

The purpose of this article is to comprehensively summarize the associations between carotenoids and breast cancer and quantitatively estimate their dose-response relationships.

Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2012 Jan;131(1):239-53. Epub 2011 Sep 7.

Mammographic Breast Density and Subsequent Risk of Breast Cancer in Postmenopausal Women According to Tumor Characteristics

Conclusions

The findings suggest that higher mammographic density is associated with more aggressive tumor characteristics and also with in situ tumors.

Affiliations of authors: Department of Surgery, Division of Public Health Sciences, Washington University in St Louis School of Medicine, St Louis, MO (LY, GAC); Division of Epidemiology, Department of Health Sciences Research, Institute for Public Health, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO (GAC); Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (LCC, SJS); Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (BR, RMT); Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN (CV)
Correspondence to: Rulla M. Tamimi, ScD, Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 181 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115 (e-mail: nhrmt@channing.harvard.edu).

Healthy lifestyle on the risk of breast cancer

CONCLUSIONS:
Healthy lifestyle was associated with a reduction in the odds of having breast cancer. Primary prevention of this disease should be promoted in an integrated manner. Effective strategies need to be identified to engage women in healthy lifestyles.

Source: Centro de Investigación en Salud Poblacional, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico.

Astragalus Combines Well With Chemotherapy

The combination of Huang Qi (Astragali Radix)-based Chinese herbal medicine and platinum-based chemotherapy is more effective in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer than the chemotherapy alone. An analysis of data from 34 published clinical trials suggests that at 12 months the mortality rate was reduced by 33% among those treated with the dual therapy. The Astragalus may work by stimulating macrophage and natural killer cell activity.

(McCulloch M et al. Astragalus-Based Chinese Herbs and Platinum-Based Chemotherapy for Advanced Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer: Meta-Analysis of Randomized Trials. J Clin Oncol. Jan 20 2006: 419-430)

TCM Aand Radiotherapy

Recovery of the hematopoietic system by Si-Jun-Zi-Tang in whole body irradiated mice.
Hsu HY, Yang JJ, Lian SL, Ho YH, Lin CC.

Source: School of Technology for Medical Sciences, Kaohsiung Medical College, Taiwan, R.O.C.

Massage

Multiple sclerosis patients benefit from massage therapy

Conculsion:
The massage group had lower anxiety and less depressed mood immediately following the massage sessions and, by the end of the study, they had improved self-esteem, better body image and image of disease progression and enhanced social functional status.

Hernandez-Reif, M., Field, T., Field, T., & Theakston, H. (1998). Multiple sclerosis patients benefit from massage therapy. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 2, 168-174.

Lower back pain and sleep disturbance are reduced following massage therapy

Conclusion:
By the end of the study, the massage therapy group, as compared to the relaxation group, reported less pain, depression, anxiety and sleep disturbance. They also showed improved trunk and pain flexion performance.

Field, T., Hernandez-Reif, M., Diego, M., & Fraser, M. (2007). Lower back pain and sleep disturbance are reduced following massage therapy. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapy, 11, 141-145.

High blood pressure and associated symptoms were reduced by massage therapy

Results:
Sitting diastolic blood pressure decreased after the first and last massage therapy sessions and reclining diastolic blood pressure decreased from the first to the last day of the study. Although both groups reported less anxiety, only the massage therapy group reported less depression and hostility and showed decreased cortisol.

Hernandez-Reif, M., Field, T., Krasnegor, J. & Theakston, H.(2000). High blood pressure and associated symptoms were reduced by massage therapy. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 4, 31-38.

Massage Therapy benefits depressed pregnant women while reducing risk of premature birth and low birth weight

Results:
The massage therapy group women versus the control group women not only had reduced depression by the end of the therapy period, but they also had reduced depression and cortisol levels during the postpartum period. Their newborns were also less likely to be born prematurely and low birthweight, and they had lower cortisol levels and performed better on the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment habituation, orientation and motor scales.

Source: Infant Behavior and Development, Volume 32, Issue 4, December 2009, Pages 454-460. Tiffany Field, Miguel Diego, Maria Hernandez-Reif, Osvelia Deeds and Barbara Figueiredo

Pregnancy and labour massage therapy

Conclusion:

Women who received massage therapy reported decreased depression, anxiety, and leg and back pain. Cortisol levels decreased and, in turn, excessive fetal activity decreased, and the rate of prematurity was lower in the massage group. In a study of labor pain, women who received massage therapy experienced significantly less pain, and their labors were on average 3 h shorter with less need for medication. An underlying mechanism we have been exploring is that these effects are mediated by increased vagal activity.

Research