Case Series: Acupuncture and Pelvic Pain

Abstract

Background: Pelvic pain can be a difficult condition to manage. Acupuncture may play a role in multidisciplinary management of this complex syndrome in consultation with primary care, obstetrics/gynecology, urology, gastroenterology, physical therapy, mental health, pain management, and other associated disciplines.Objective: This article reviews some of the acupuncture literature associated with pelvic pain and discusses 4 cases who were managed in an outpatient setting. Design: The article presents a retrospective case series utilizing a chart review. All subjects had written informed consent obtained for acupuncture treatment. Given that this was a retrospective review of only 4 patients, no institutional review board approval was necessary, per the requirements of the Nellis Air Force Base Clinical Investigation Program. Setting: These patients were treated at an outpatient military family medicine acupuncture referral clinic. Patients: Four female patients were referred by various sources to an acupuncture clinic over 2 years. The patients were diagnosed with pelvic pain or dyspareunia. Results: All 4 patients had subjective reduction of their pelvic pain after 4-8 acupuncture treatments. Conclusions: Given that this was only a case series with no formal study protocol, no definitive conclusions can be drawn. This article was prepared only to share some varied successful acupuncture techniques that a practitioner may want to consider using to manage pelvic pain.