Acupuncture Case Studies - Treatment of Infertility

Chief-complaint: Infertility
Western-diagnosis: Unexplained Fertility
Medical-history: 27 year old female, unexplained infertility. Had been trying for four years to become pregnant. Active and fit.
Symptoms: Mild to moderate stress, depression and anxiety related to work and not getting pregnant.
No complaints of pain
No other remarkable symptoms.
Pulse & Palpation: Pulse wiry. Tender to palpation low back and SI joint. Very tight abdominal muscles from exercise routine.
Tongue: Tongue normal size and shape, slight dusky, with thin white coating. Physical exam revealed anterior R hip rotation.
CM-diagnosis: Qi and Blood Stasis, Liver qi stagnation
Treatment-principle: Move Qi and Blood, smooth Liver
Point-prescription: Supine treatment for 20 minutes: 4 gates, GB27,KI20, P6. Then prone, using UB15, UB17, UB18, UB23, UB25, UB29, UB31, UB32, plus ashi at SI joint. End of treatment used Tui Na and handheld electric stimulation on low back.
Herb-prescription: None
Lifestyle-prescription: Instructions on breath-work to relax abdominal muscles, stop caffeine.
Results: After four consecutive weekly treatments using this or slightly varied protocol, patient became pregnant.
Synopsis: Most cases of infertility involve kidney and spleen deficiencies and/or liver qi stagnation, but the primary reason for this patient’s inability to conceive was primarily due to a lack of blood circulation in the pelvic region. Once the pelvic rotation was corrected and back and abdominal muscles relaxed, she quickly became pregnant.