Acupuncture for Interstitial Cystitis

I often treat women and men for the symptoms from interstitial cystitis (IC) or painful bladder syndrome (PBS) with very good results.  I think this is because TCM has been treating syndromes with painful and frequent urination for thousands of years.  So there has been significant amount clinical experience and scholarship about these conditions.

What is Interstitial Cystitis or Painful Bladder Syndrome in Chinese medicine?

Over two thousand years ago, Chinese medicine scholars described a condition which they called Lin syndrome.  Lin syndrome is characterized by painful and frequent urination.  Other symptoms can be tenderness in the lower abdomen, a feeling of incomplete urination, sexual dysfunction, changes in the color of urination, urinating at night, and also mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.

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

Most conditions are caused by imbalances.  Chinese medicine works by correcting imbalances in the body.  Once the imbalance is removed, the body can heal itself.

Diagnosis and treatment are tailored specifically to the symptoms of the patient.  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 treatment 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.

Please visit the Interstitial Cystitis Network to learn more about Interstitial Cystitis and Painful Bladder Syndrome.

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