'HEALTH'
ACUPUNCTURE AND PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME (PMS)

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is defined as ‘’a collection of different signs and symptoms which occur only in the premenstruum, i.e. after ovulation, and is relieved by menstruation’’.

Symptoms may therefore occur anytime before menstruation begins, and remit after the onset of bleeding. The combination of symptoms seen in PMS occurs regularly, either every month or most months, although their severity may vary from one cycle to he next. It is generally accepted that PMS gets worse with age ( worst between 30-40), and usually does not improve after childbirth.

Symptoms
Although as many as 150 individual premenstrual symptoms have been noted, the most common symptoms can be put into 4 main groups:

Anxiety, irritability, mood swings and nervous tension.

Depression, insomnia, lethargy and confusion

Bloating, weight gain, headaches and breast tenderness

Increase in appetite, cravings for sugar and/or salt and fatigue

Other often reported symptoms include unease, sleepiness, aggressiveness, crying spells, clumsiness, poor co-ordination, difficulty concentrating, decrease or increase in libido, swelling, puffiness of the abdomen, face or fingers, constipation, diarrhoea, acne and skin rashes, muscle aches and pains, and exacerbation of epilepsy, migraine, asthma, rhinitis or urticaria.

Incidence
Depending on how it is assessed, between 5% and 97% of women have been reported as suffering from PMS. More accurate estimates point to around 35% of women having moderate to severe symptoms which disrupt social life, work and family life and may cause a woman to seek treatment, whilst 5-10% will experience severely debilitating symptoms causing major disruption in all aspects of life. As a result of these figures, PMS has been described as the worlds commonest disease. PMS has variously been reported to result in increased psychiatric admissions, suicides, alcohol abuse, child abuse, accidents, examination failure, varicose veins, glaucoma, cardiac failure and hospital admissions in general. It has even served as a defence in murder! PMS is not usually seen in the absence of other menstrual symptoms.

Cause
The cause of PMS has resulted in much debate, contradiction and confusion. This is in part because both physical and psychological factors have been found to be both precipitating factors and symptoms. As a result, there is dispute over whether PMS has a biological or a psychological cause. An extraordinary number of possible causes has been advanced for PMS, most of them unsubstantiated.

Treatment
Western medical treatment is ‘largely empirical and is frequently no better than the average placebo response rate of 40%’ (Elder M.)

Chinese medicine
In Chinese Medicine we again look at two main pathologies for PMS. One group being full conditions and the other empty ones. The most commonly encountered full conditions would be what we call ‘Liver Qi stagnation’ and ‘Phlegm-fire harassing upwards’. In Liver qi stagnation we may see symptoms like abdominal and breast distension, irritability, moodiness, depression and clumsiness. While for phlegm harassing upwards we would have more agitation, depression and slightly more manic behaviour and aggressiveness.

Empty conditions could be: ‘Liver Blood deficiency’ with symptoms such as, depression and weepiness before period, tiredness, scanty periods, poor sleep and a dull pale complexion. ‘Liver and Kidney Yin deficiency’ with symptoms like: Slight breast distension and irritability, sore back and knees, dizziness and blurred vision. Acupuncture once or twice a week over a couple of cycles, depending on the severity of the condition, should make you feel a lot better again.

What other problems can be treated by Acupuncture?
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has indicated that Acupuncture is effective in the following conditions:

Acute and chronic pain relief: Trigeminal neuralgia, Headaches and Migraine,  Cervical, thoracic and lower back pain, Sciatica, ¨frozen shoulder¨, Tennis elbow, Post operative pain relief, Arthritis, Neurological syndromes, Fibromyalgia.

Gastro intestinal disorders: Gastritis, gastric hyperacidity, chronic Duodenal ulcers, acute and chronic Colitis, Dysentery, Constipation, Diarrhoea, hiccough.

Respiratory system: Common cold, bronchitis, bronchial asthma (in children or adults when uncomplicated), Sinusitis, Rhinitis, tonsillitis.

Gynaecology: Early-late or irregular periods, Dysmenorrhoea, Amenorrhea, Pre menstrual tension, Menopausal syndrome, Leucorrhoea, infertility.

Written by Robert Vandevelde, former President Australian Acupuncture and Chinese medicine Association. Acupuncture is used to treat a host of other problems, if you’re not sure Acupuncture/Chinese medicine can help you, please call Robert on 660 032 862 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it