Acupuncture

Acupuncture for male fertility

How can acupuncture help with male fertility?

Male fertility is relatively simple. Either you have enough healthy sperm to ensure fertilisation or you do not. The key word is ‘healthy’. There are several different ways in which a man’s sperm needs to be healthy.

  • Volume of semen, the liquid in which the sperm are carried. It helps to protect the sperm, but the sperm only make up between 2 and 5% of this. There should be at least one millilitre (ml) of fluid when you ejaculate.

  • Quantity of sperm, expressed in millions per ml. At least 20 million per ml at each ejaculation are needed for fertilisation to occur.

  • Motility of the sperm, the ability of the sperm to swim vigorously and purposefully (in a forward direction). 50% should be motile.

  • Morphology: the number of normally shaped sperm. More than 14% should be normal forms, i.e. no deformities of head, mid-part or tail.

 

What can acupuncture do?

Men can benefit from acupuncture just as much as women, if they are shown to be sub-fertile. Evidence shows that acupuncture can be used to improve both the quantity and quality of the sperm you produce. Specifically I can help to:

  • increase the quantity of semen you produce at each ejaculation

  • increase the number of sperm per ml. in your semen sample

  • increase the motility of your sperm

  • increase your percentage of normally formed sperm

Acupuncture treatment is appropriate where any or all of the above are needed. I can also make a difference if you have lowered fertility due to previous illness (e.g. mumps), trauma, or conditions such as undescended testicle. Acupuncture can be used to improve the quality of the sperm especially where this is borderline.

I target your treatment towards:

  • Regulating the qi system of your whole body; this supports and supplements the energy you use to make sperm.

  • Promoting qi circulation to your lower abdomen and testicles; by doing this we can help to improve the blood circulation to your testicles which in turn helps your sperm production.

  • Strengthening the function of your Kidney qi (the constitutional basis of sperm production).

Treatment programme:

Treatment involves 12 treatments over the course of 12 weeks, i.e. weekly. In the case of couples undertaking IVF/ICSI or IUI, the last treatment should be just before you produce your sperm for the procedure. I will need to conduct an initial consultation with you lasting one hour. Subsequent treatments will be 30mins.

No needles are inserted into your penis or testicles. I will want to needle points on your lower abdomen, i.e. below the navel, in addition to wrists, lower legs and feet. An average of ten needles are used at each treatment.

Advice on diet, exercise and, if necessary, relaxation and stress reduction are all included in the programme. Food supplements in the form of pills may also be prescribed if necessary.