Acupuncture for Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Potential Mechanism from an Anti-Inflammatory Perspective

The low adverse effects of acupuncture for primary dysmenorrhea (PD), known as one of the most commonly reported gynecological debilitating conditions affecting women’s overall health, have been thus far confirmed. Moreover, it has been increasingly recognized that inflammation is involved in such m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine 2021, Vol.2021, p.1907009-12
Main Authors: Yu, Wen-Yan, Ma, Liang-Xiao, Zhang, Zhou, Mu, Jie-Dan, Sun, Tian-Yi, Tian, Yuan, Qian, Xu, Zhang, Yi-Dan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acupuncture
Alternative medicine
Analgesics
Chemokines
Cytokines
Endometrium
Gynecology
Hypoxia
Inflammation
Ischemia
Leukocytes
Menstruation
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
Pain
Pathophysiology
Review
Uterus
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Summary:The low adverse effects of acupuncture for primary dysmenorrhea (PD), known as one of the most commonly reported gynecological debilitating conditions affecting women’s overall health, have been thus far confirmed. Moreover, it has been increasingly recognized that inflammation is involved in such menstrual cramps, and recent studies have further shown that the anti-inflammatory effects of acupuncture are helpful in its control. This review portrays the role of inflammation in PD pathophysiology, provides evidence from clinical and animal studies on acupuncture for inflammation-induced visceral pain, and reflects on acupuncture-related therapies for dysmenorrhea with regard to their anti-inflammatory characteristics. Further research accordingly needs to be carried out to clarify the effects of acupuncture on proinflammatory factors in PD, particularly chemokines and leukocytes. Future studies on this condition from an anti-inflammatory perspective should be also performed in line with the notion of emphasizing stimulation modes to optimize the clinical modalities of acupuncture. Additionally, the effects and mechanism of more convenient self-healing approaches such as TENS/TEAS for PD should be investigated.
ISSN:1741-427X
1741-4288
DOI:10.1155/2021/1907009