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Acupuncture for PCOS

July 28th, 2009

Women experiencing polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) may benefit from acupuncture and exercise, according to a new study.

Women with PCOS often have elevated sympathetic nerve activity, which contributes to cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, and obesity. Electro-acupuncture therapy and exercise can reduce sympathetic activity in women with PCOS.

Findings of the study also indicate that electro-acupuncture can aid in regulating menstrual cycles, reducing testosterone levels and reducing waist circumference.

While exercise was ineffective in regulating menstrual cycles or in reducing waist circumference, it did result in weight and body mass index reductions.

“The findings that low-frequency electro-acupuncture and exercise decrease sympathetic nerve activity in women with PCOS indicates a possible alternative non-pharmacologic approach to reduce cardiovascular risk in these patients,” said researcher Dr. Elisabet Stener-Victorin of the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Chronic hyperactivity of the sympathetic nervous system can increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, and diabetes. PCOS affects an estimate 10 percent of women of reproductive age. PCOS can cause irregular menstrual cycles, ovarian cysts, infertility, and increased levels of testosterone and other androgens.

The researchers believe that the increased levels of testosterone associated with PCOS may be contributing to increased sympathetic nerve activity. The study appears in a recent edition of the American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology.

The study included 20 women, average age of 30 years, which were randomly assigned to one of three groups: An electro-acupuncture group, an exercise group and an untreated control group.

The acupuncture group received 14 treatments over the 16-week study. Abdomen and leg acupoints associated with the ovaries were stimulated with a low-frequency electrical charge to produce muscle contraction.

The exercise group participated in regular brisk walking, cycling or other aerobic exercises 30-45 minutes for at least three days per week. The control group received exercise and healthy diet instruction only.

Following treatment, both the acupuncture and exercise groups decreased muscle sympathetic nerve activity compared to the control group. The acupuncture group experienced fewer menstrual irregularities while the exercise group’s irregularities stayed the same. The acupuncture group also experienced a significant decrease in testosterone.

“This is the first study to demonstrate that repeated low-frequency electro-acupuncture and physical exercise can reduce high sympathetic nerve activity seen in women with PCOS,” the researchers state. “Both therapies decreased measures of obesity while only low-frequency electro-acupuncture improved menstrual bleeding pattern.”

For more information about acupuncture for the treatment of PCOS call Dr. Richard Browne, Acupuncture Physician, at (305) 595-9500. 

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