The Treatment of Pelvic Pain with Acupuncture: Part 2

Part One of this article appeared in issue 91 of the Journal of Chinese Medicine. It focused on the use of trigger point needling and manual myofascial techniques in the management of chronic myofascial pelvic pain, and offered a mechanistic approach to pain presentation. Part Two incorporates the use of Western acupuncture analgesia for the management of chronic pelvic pain, through the use of segmental pain gate inhibitory mechanisms combined with supraspinal descending inhibitory pathways. The use of traditional Chinese acupuncture in the management of the biopsychosocial and emotional aspects of chronic pelvic pain is also explored, including discussion of channel palpation, the use of the extraordinary vessels and recent neurophysiological research. The theoretical discussion is supported by a case study. The purpose of this paper is to integrate and learn from the different theoretical models, rather than favour one model over another.