Acupuncture for Interstitial Cystitis

Over two thousand years ago, Chinese medicine scholars described a condition similar of interstitical cystitis.  Interstitial cystitis, also called Painful Bladder Syndrome (PBS) is characterized by painful and frequent urination.  Other symptoms can be tenderness in the lower abdomen, a feeling of incomplete urination, sexual dysfunction, urinating at night, and also depression and anxiety.

IC has significant impact on people’s lives.  Acupuncture can provide relief of the pain and discomfort associated with IC.  I believe this is, in part, due to the long history of treating these symptoms providing an abundance of clinical experience.

How does Acupuncture and Chinese medicine treat Interstitial Cystitis or Painful Bladder Syndrome?

Acupuncture works by correcting imbalances in the body.   The idea is that your body was once healthy.  But something disrupted the normal functions.  Acupuncture helps to reset the body, bringing it back to a healthy state.

Acupuncture has it’s own diagnosis and treatment methods.  Diagnosis and treatment are tailored specifically to your specific symptoms.  So the acupuncture treatment is not the same for each person.

The acupuncture diagnosis focuses on specific imbalances causing the condition.  The most common imbalances are a lack of energy in the body as well as lack of circulation of energy in the body that can lead to the development of heat.

For example, if there is painful urination mostly when the patient wakes up or after sitting all day at work, and it gets worse with stress, then it is probably qi stagnation.  These are times when there is less circulation that can lead to a build up of qi.  Another patient may experience frequent urination, fatigue, poor digestion, and a feeling of fullness in the lower abdomen.  This is probably a lack of qi.

What is Acupuncture like?

Acupuncture uses thin needles that are placed in points selected for the specific imbalance you are experiencing.  The needles stay in the points for about twenty minutes to a half hour.  Usually, people feel very relaxed during the acupuncture treatment.  This is probably from the release of pain relieving chemicals in the brain.

Just like other therapies, acupuncture’s effects are most powerful from a series of treatments.  It has a cumulative healing effect and long lasting results. A full treatment course is usually 12-15 visits, once or twice a week. Generally, people will start to feel some relief after 3 or 4 sessions.

Learn more about how acupuncture works:

• How Acupuncture Works to Relieve Pain
• Acupuncture Stimulates the Body to Heal Itself
• Acupuncture and the Mind Body Connection