The results of a new study show that diclofenac, naproxen and etoricoxib significantly inhibit ovulation in women with mild musculoskeletal pain. Of the women receiving NSAIDs, only 6.3 percent (diclofenac), 25 percent (naproxen) and 27.3 percent (etoricoxib) ovulated, compared with 100 percent of the control group. (Source: Science Daily)
2015 Study on NSAID use and Ovulation
Key Points
- Participants in the study received diclofenac 100mg once daily, naproxen 500mg twice daily or etoricoxib 90mg once daily for back pain. The control group received no treatment.
- “After just ten days of treatment we saw a significant decrease in progesterone, a hormone essential for ovulation, across all treatment groups, as well as functional cysts in one third of patients“
- “results may open the door for looking for an emergency contraceptivet [sic] safer than those at use.”
- Women with rheumatic conditions are at particular risk of unknowingly inhibiting their fertility with NSAID use.
Rates of Ovulation:
[wproto_progress titles=”Diclofenac|Naproxen (Aleve)|Etoricoxib|Control (no drug)” values=”6.3|25|27.3|100″]
Not ovulating? Low pregnancy rate? Acupuncture may help.
Acupuncture treatment has been shown to increase ovulation and fertility rates in various populations, such as:
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
A 2013 study found “repeated acupuncture treatments resulted in higher ovulation frequency in lean/overweight women with PCOS and were more effective than just meeting with the therapist. Ovarian and adrenal sex steroid serum levels were reduced with no effect on LH secretion.”
IVF/Failed embryo implantation
Researchers published their findings in 2013, citing “acupuncture and moxibustion increased pregnancy rates when used as an adjuvant treatment in women undergoing IVF, when embryo implantation had failed.”
How does acupuncture positively effect infertility?
Western medicine would describe acupuncture’s positive effect differently than Chinese medicine, because of our differing diagnostic systems. In the medical review “Acupuncture for infertility: Is it an effective therapy?” researchers describe acupuncture’s positive effect on infertility as being likely due to the treatment’s ability to:
- modulate “the central and peripheral nervous systems, the neuroendocrine and endocrine systems, the ovarian blood flow, and metabolism.”
- improve “the outcome of IVF-ET, and the mechanisms may be related to the increased uterine blood flow, inhibited uterine motility, and the anesis of depression, anxiety and stress.”
- show a “positive role in male infertility, the mechanism of which is not yet clear.”
For us East Asian Medicine Practitioners, we would say acupuncture helps balance heat and cold in the body, as well as excess and deficiency. Our common diagnoses for infertility may include (but are not limited to) Liver and Kidney deficiency, qi and blood stagnation, or pathogenic heat. Depending on the diagnosis, symptoms and treatment plan would differ.
Can acupuncture help me?
If you’re not ovulating and would like to find out how acupuncture might be helpful for you, consider an evaluation with a licensed acupuncturist. Had great success with fertility after seeing an acupuncturist? I’d love to hear your story in the comments!
Black Pine Holistic Healing 