Ear acupuncture therapy for 37 cases of dysmenorrhoea due to endometriosis

By: Donfang, Yiang
Publication: The Journal of Chinese Medicine
Date: Saturday, February 1 2003

Ear Acupuncture Therapy for 37 Cases of Dysmenorrhoea Due to Endometriosis, by Xiang Dongfang et al: The authors compare the use of ear acupuncture with herbal preparations in the treatment of dysmenorrhoea due to endometriosis. The number of cases of mild, moderate or severe pain were 16, 12 and 9 respectively in the group receiving acupuncture (37 in total), and 12, 10 and 8 (30 in total) in the herbal therapy group. Patients ages ranged from the mid 20s to mid to late 40s in both groups, with no significant differences. A third group of 8 healthy women were studied to examine the impact of acupuncture therapy on the levels of b(beta)-endorphin in peripheral blood. In the acupuncture group, Ting Zhong (centre of cymba auriculae), Pi Zhi Xia (hypo-cortex), Nei Fen Mi (endocrine), Jiao Gan (sympathetic) and Nei Sheng Zhi Qi (internal genital) were treated with embedded needles 5 days before the menstrual period was due to start, over a course of 3 successive menstrual cycles. Blood samples were taken from patients on the same day in the menstrual cycle before and after treatment to determine b-endorphin levels. Samples from the 8 healthy women in the control group were taken on the first day of the menstrual period. The group treated with Chinese herbs were given a formula intended to promote blood circulation and remove stasis, containing Dan Shen (Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae), Chi Shao (Radix Paeoniae Rubrae), San Leng (Rhizoma Sparganii), E Zhu (Rhizoma Curcumae Zedoariae), Zhi Ke (Fructus Citri seu Ponciri) and Xiang Fu (Rhizoma Cyperi Rotundi). The decoction was given every day for 7 days starting 5 days before commencement of the period. The authors suggest that the therapeutic effects of the ear acupuncture were significantly better than for the herbal group. Dysmenorrhoea scores after treatment for the ear acupuncture group were lower than before treatment (P<0.05), while the pre-treatment and post-treatment scores in the herbal group showed no statistical difference. Patients suffering severe dysmenorrhoea, in particular, showed especial benefit from the ear acupuncture. Before treatment, bendorphin levels in patients with moderate or severe dysmenorrhoea were lower than in the control group (P<0.05) whereas for those with mild dysmenorrhoea there was no significant difference. After treatment, the b-endorphin levels in patients with moderate or severe dysmenorrhoea had significantly increased (P<0.05), whereas there was no significant increase in those with mild dysmenorrhoea. Overall, the cured and markedly effective rate in the ear acupuncture group was 81.1% as compared with 26.7% in the herbal treatment group.