Acupuncture is suitable to be used as an adjunct treatment. This means being used in addition, or to support, another form of therapy. It is particularly suitable when the other therapy is pharmacological (such as with IVF), since acupuncture does not involve ingestion of any substances (medication or herbal medicine). In turn, this omits the risk of potential co-interactions between the two treatments. As a consequence of this, acupuncture is being increasingly used to coincide with IVF. But, I hear you ask, how effective is the acupuncture? The answer to the above question is not so simple.
What do the clinical trials indicate? Well surprisingly, these are not a good indication. Chinese medicine is highly idiosyncratic. This means it is difficult to standardise. Yet the foundations of sound scientific method require standardisation. So, in order to uphold the demands of the scientific model, often the integrity of the Chinese medicine is jeopardised in the clinical trials which use acupuncture as an adjunct to IVF. This means the acupuncture is not used in the most effective way. As a consequence, the clinical trials have yielded mix results. In clinical practice, acupuncture can be better administered in accordance with best practice. In turn, the outcomes are much more impressive than indicated in the clinical trials.
At the Fertility & IVF Acupuncture Clinic, Dr Kirk Wilson (PhD) has used his experience in academic research to devise treatment protocols of best practice which uphold the integrity of the Chinese Medicine model. If you are considering undertaking IVF, it is advisable you make contact to find out how he can best help you prepare for success.
