Gynecology from a Chinese medicine perspective
Historically, Chinese medicine thought of the body as having both male and female characteristics. Overtime, there was a recognition that the women’s body is ruled by blood, and treatments for women started to shift. By the Song dynasty (960–1279 AD), a gynecological specialty emerged. Women’s bodies are complex, and blood is its root. In Chinese medicine, it is said that blood is the foundation of women, and when Qi and blood flow smoothly, their body is healthy, and the spirit is clear.
A famous Chinese medicine physician, Sun Si Miao (581- 682 A.D.), proposed that special attention and treatments were necessary for women due to pregnancy, giving birth and uterine damage. He famously stated that women’s disorders are “ten times more difficult to treat than those of males, perhaps because of yin influences (swelling and dampness).”
In Chinese medicine, blood has a different meaning than in western medicine. Chinese medicine sees blood as a very dense and material form of Qi. In this way, Qi and blood are inseparable, and is the Qi in the blood that give it motion. Blood has a close relationship with the internal organs: Spleen, Heart, Liver, and Kidneys. The Spleen helps with blood production of what we call food-Qi (i.e., what we eat), which is the basis of blood, and Spleen Qi helps to hold the blood in the vessels. The Heart governs the blood and the blood vessels and is responsible for its circulation. The Liver is of highly importance when it comes to women’s health. It is said that when we are active, the Liver smooths the flows of blood in the muscles and sinews, and when lying down, the blood is stored in the Liver. When lying down, the blood regenerates itself in the Liver, which highlights the importance of adequate rest.
Liver blood is very important for a regular and healthy menstruation, since it supplies the uterus with blood. Women’s physiology is highly dependent on blood and its close connection to the Liver and the Kidneys. While Liver stores the blood, the Kidneys store our essence. In the Chinese five-element theory, the Kidney is the mother of the Liver, and essence and blood influence each other mutually. The Kidney essence controls the reproductive function (of both men and women), but due to its influence on blood, blood also influences the reproductive function in women.
Even in contemporary Chinese medicine gynecology, women’s health and fertility is intimately related to blood and menstrual health. Delayed ovulation, excessive or scanty menstrual flow, dysmenorrhea, premenstrual symptoms, and short or long menstrual cycles are diagnostically significant signs and symptoms to gage a woman’s gynecological health and fertility. It is very common in a modern acupuncture practice, to vary and adapt treatments according to the developments in the menstrual cycle. On the other hand, assisted modern technologies, while necessary in many cases, only seek to treat menstrual cycle difficulties by artificially controlling a woman’s cycle through pharmaceutical and surgical interventions.
Clinical research has demonstrated that acupuncture regulates the menstrual cycle, and uterine and ovarian blood flow encouraging thickening of the uterine wall, making embryo implantation more successful and improving fertility. Traditional Chinese medicine has been treating a range of menstrual irregularities for millennia, including cycles too short, too long, or too variable, too scant or too heavy bleeding, as well as menses accompanied by a range of other symptoms such as abdominal pain, headache, acne, or mood changes.
References
Maciocia, G. (2015). The foundations of Chinese medicine: A comprehensive text. Churchill Livingstone.
Furth C. A Flourishing Yin: Gender in China’s Medical History, 960–1665. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press; 1999.
Chen Z-M. <Fu Ren Da Quan Liang Fang> ‘Compendium of Good Remedies for Women’. p. 1237.
Maciocia G. Obstetrics and gynecology in Chinese medicine. New York, NY, USA: Churchill Livingstone; 1998.
Hou Jl., editor. Acupuncture and moxibustion therapy in gynecology and obstetrics. Beijing: Beijing Science & Technology Press; 1995.
Cochrane S, Smith CA, Possamai-Inesedy A, Bensoussan A. Acupuncture and women's health: an overview of the role of acupuncture and its clinical management in women's reproductive health. Int J Womens Health. 2014 Mar 17;6:313-25. doi: 10.2147/IJWH.S38969. PMID: 24669195; PMCID: PMC3962314.
Sun Si Miao (581- 682 A.D.): China’s pre-eminent physician. (n.d.). http://www.smj.org.sg/sites/default/files/4305/4305ms1.pdf