Stress incontinence affects mainly women and can occur after childbirth and menopause. It is thought that the lowered estrogen levels causes lower muscular pressure around the urethra causing small amounts of urine leaking out during laughing, coughing or sneezing. Incontinence also affects some women athletes. Acupuncture for stress incontinence is becoming the first choice of treatment and has been used for hundreds of years.
Can modern western medicine help stress incontinence?
There is little that western medicine has to offer.
Pelvic floor muscle exercises would be the first option of choice of treatment in combination with other lifestyle changes such as weight loss and dietary changes such cutting back on alcohol may help.
Other treatments like the insertion of a vaginal cone electrical stimulation of the vagina are not recommended by the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
Corrective surgery is generally unsuccessful.
Modern research confirms that acupuncture for stress incontinence works!
The University of Maryland Medical Center reported on their stress incontinence research, that having just one acupuncture treatment per week for one month improved the symptoms of urinary incontinence.
Mr Alan Jansson, an acupuncturist specializing in traditional Japanese acupuncture of the Gold Coast in Queensland, says that acupuncture is a proven safe treatment for 100’s of complaints and he is not surprised to hear of the University of Maryland results.
Alan Jansson says “Acupuncture, moxibustion and Chinese herbs have the goal to treat the root cause of the stress incontinence. Even though doing pelvic floor exercises help, they do not address the root issue of what caused the muscles to weaken in the first place.”
Western medicine says that there are changes in estrogen levels because of pregnancy and menopause that lead to weaker muscles. Chinese medicine says that the Chong acupuncture meridian can become imbalanced during pregnancy or menopause. This acupuncture meridian is regarded as the “Sea of Blood” and within the blood are the hormones and nutrients that control and regulate the menstrual cycles. There is actually a quote from a classical Chinese medicine text dating back 2000 years that explains how the chong meridian is actually responsible for the strength and tone of the sexual organs.
Stress incontinence affects millions of women. Acupuncture can help stress incontinence and other urine disorders such as cystitis.