Have you ever wondered why you and/or so many women are prone to premenstrual syndrome: a very real yet often denied phenomenon in western culture? The headaches, the irritability, breast tenderness, acne, bloating, loose stools, fatigue, low back pain and menstrual cramps are commonly experienced symptoms right before the period that can easily be both explained and treated by Chinese Medicine. I tell people these are not normal things that are a necessary part of being a woman. They can easily be cured or at least controlled by harmonizing the energy channels in the body.

In Chinese Medicine the liver organ is responsible for both directing the energy of the organs and for creating and storing blood that nourishes the womb and the potential fetus. Reproduction depends on being able to hold the blood in a woman's body, but once the hormone signals have determined that there is no pregnancy, the body is told to reverse this holding and let go of the blood. It is this change of intention and direction that sometimes leads to congestion or qi (energy) stagnation in the liver and symptoms such as breast tenderness, cramping, headaches and irritability. A congested liver can also deplete the energy of the spleen meridian and create symptoms such as fatigue, loose stools and abdominal bloating. Low back pain is often associated with the kidney, another organ closely related to the functioning of the liver.

In my experience as an acupuncturist who specializes in women's medicine, the patterns and the symptoms spoken about here respond very readily to acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine. Acupuncture needles are used to stimulate the flow of energy along the channels and decongest stagnation in the liver meridian, or pathway. Herbs can also stimulate energy flow and build up the energy of weaker channels such as the spleen (digestive) or kidney (constitutional) energy. Usually women will experience significant improvement and sometimes complete healing of symptoms after just one month of weekly acupuncture treatments.

If you or someone you know suffers from PMS, please consider acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine. Your body and your friends will thank you. You can visit http://www.santarosa-acupuncture.com for more helpful tips or call Kat Delse, L.Ac. at  (707) 775-8311 for more information.