Need to know more about polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)? PCOS is a common, growing threat to women’s fertility yet is vastly unrecognized by doctors and women alike. More than 40 percent of all women of childbearing are affected by PCOS.
Why is PCOS a fertility problem?
Most women with PCOS have ovulation dysfunction. In fact, many women with PCOS are first diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome when they try to get pregnant and cannot.
Along with causing problems getting pregnant, PCOS also has negative and sometimes serious long-term health consequences such as diabetes and heart disease.
How does Traditional Chinese Medicine view PCOS?
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is as old as Chinese civilization itself. TCM gets its theoretical basis from the Taoist principles of yin and yang, the five movements, and Qi (pronounced “chi”).
As early as the 1200s, Chinese medicine recognized PCOS, describing it as a “Tian Gui” disorder. This is a genetic disorder with symptoms of an irregular menstrual cycle and infertility caused by anovulation.
Polycystic ovarian syndrome is considered an anovulation disorder related to ovarian insulin resistance, according to TCM.
PCOS – a kidney deficiency?
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, practitioners describe PCOS as a Kidney Deficiency. The kidney in TCM is the organ system that is regarded with any genetic disorder and, thus, considered the root cause in polycystic ovarian syndrome.
In TCM, the absence of the menstrual period, along with the absence of ovulation is a kidney disease process. Today, modern medicine links PCOS to a genetic heritage and considers PCOS an inherited problem in which signs and symptoms are not recognized until adulthood.
PCOS – a spleen deficiency?
Also, PCOS is considered to be a Spleen Deficiency in TCM. A Spleen Deficiency relates to the insulin resistance part of polycystic ovarian syndrome. With TCM, the spleen is in charge of metabolizing the vitamins and minerals from foods, as well as changing and carrying body fluids.
In women with ovarian cysts, TCM considers the spleen dysfunctional. The spleen is also the organ that is correlated with weight gain. In fact, about 30 to 60 percent of women with polycystic ovarian syndrome are obese.
TCM believes that when the function of the spleen is improved, it helps to regulate blood glucose and weight gain. A healthy spleen also ends excessive fluid accumulation in ovarian cysts.
PCOS – from liver stagnation?
TCM recognizes a third pattern of Liver Stagnation with PCOS. Liver Stagnation can manifest as Blood Stasis or excess heat in the channels or meridians of the body.
Blood Stasis in the body’s meridians or channels nourishes the hair follicles excessively, creating the coarse and unwanted hair. This sign is consistent with hirsutism, a common symptom that affects about 70 percent of women with polycystic ovary syndrome.
Excessive heat in the meridians or channels of the body also triggers the acne component of PCOS.
How is PCOS treated using TCM?
The main goal when trying to improve fertility in women with PCOS is to induce ovulation. To induce ovulation, TCM practitioners treat the main organs, including the kidney, spleen, and liver. The practitioner may use a combination of acupuncture, electro-acupuncture, moxabustion, and herbal therapy.
The concept behind Traditional Chinese Medicine is very progressive. Not only is it highly personal, but TCM was one of the first traditions to grasp the potential within the broader field of preventative medicine.
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Sources: 1. Pulling Down the Moon; 2. Different phenotypes of polycystic ovary syndrome by Rotterdam criteria are differently steroidogenic but similarly insulin resistant. Fertil Steril. 2010 Mar 1;93(4):1362-5. Epub 2009 Sep 26. Lorenz, L., & Wild; 3. R.A. Polycystic ovarian syndrome: An evidence-based approach to evaluation and management of diabetes and cardiovascular risks for today’s clinician. Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2007; 50(1), 226-243.
