Quick summary
- Acupuncture is an ancient medicine that has gained popularity in recent years and has been found to have numerous benefits, including improving hormonal balance and fertility in men.
- Acupuncture can help reduce stress, improve sleep and digestion, and correct hormonal imbalances that can negatively impact libido and sex drive.
- Acupuncture can improve sperm quality, movement, and count by increasing blood flow, increasing calcium levels, and reducing structural abnormalities. Choosing the right practitioner is crucial for safe and effective treatment.
Acupuncture is a medicine that has become more popular in recent years despite being an ancient medicine used for years. With numerous benefits, something to consider for men is that acupuncture can improve hormonal and fertility in men.
In fact, there have been a number of recent studies proving that things like sperm count and quality are significantly increased with the use of acupuncture. And with 10% of men being infertile, there are a lot of benefits worth taking a lot at.
Acupuncture and Its Effect on Hormones
Acupuncture is the process of inserting thin needles into the surface of the skin at different tension points. It can address musculoskeletal pain, stress, hormonal imbalance, and more and since some of these issues intertwine with each other it all affects one another.
Helps Reduce Stress
Two of the bigger reasons someone would go to get acupuncture is to reduce their stress levels and help their sleep. Stress in general can have major impacts on our digestive system, sleep, and muscle tension.
By the needles physically releasing the muscle tension you can reduce stress in general. Which in turn may help improve your sleep and digestive system.
Since stress has a big factor in creating hormonal balance this is a preventive measure this is just one area that can help. And because stress can also cause headaches, acupuncture is commonly used to treat this symptom as well.
Helps Readdress Our Hormonal Imbalance
Stress causes a hormonal imbalance as listed above. This can include a decreased libido which has a direct impact on sex and a man’s fertility.
As acupuncture works to regulate our nervous system by stimulating it, our bodies release “feel good” chemicals to our muscles, spinal cord, and brain. This can address a few hormonal balance issues such as adrenal gland dysfunction.
Poor adrenal glands are normally referred to as adrenal fatigue which in turn produces low cortisol levels. By placing the tiny needles in areas that can stimulate the kidney, traditional Chinese medicine practitioners believe this can correct the hormonal imbalance.
How Acupuncture Affects Sperm
Everything mentioned above directly relates to improving sperm quality, sperm movement, and sperm count. Increased stress and hormonal imbalance affect a man’s libido and sex drive in a negative way.
Increased Blood Flow
Acupuncture increases blood circulation and blood flow which releases nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is produced by every cell in our body and is the main contributor to blood vessel health overall.
When the blood circulation improves more nutrients and oxygen can flow through the body and to the testes. This also helps removes waste and produce a healthier environment for sperm production.
Increasing Calcium Levels
Sperm motility is how functional sperm can move through the female reproductive system to impregnate a woman. The better a man’s sperm motility is the higher chances of pregnancy.
Interestingly enough increased calcium levels saw a direct positive result on sperm production and sperm motility. Through acupuncture, calcium levels can be increased.
In a study done for Osteoporosis, acupuncture had a great effect on calcium signaling than taking calcium supplements. This goes to show that acupuncture’s effect on calcium can help sperm “swim” better.
Reducing the Number of Structural Abnormalities
The cause of infertility in men according to researchers is a lot harder to point out than in women. While there are contributing factors that may affect sperm quality and movement, it’s often hard to say exactly why.
The same reasoning (or lack of) can be said about decreased structural abnormalities in sperm. In a study men who had received acupuncture twice a week for five weeks saw fewer structural abnormalities than those who didn’t.
From these findings, it’s encouraged that men get acupuncture along with other infertility treatments to increase the odds of fertility per couple.
Choosing The Right Practitioner
Acupuncture is all around a medicine that provides clear emotional and physical benefits. But if the practitioner isn’t experienced a patient can run the risk of more harm than good.
Finding a spot like WTHN’s NYC acupuncture clinic is a good start in addressing male fertility and hormonal imbalance. Other traditional Chinese medicines offered are also worth a second look.
Taking Advantage of a Number of Benefits
Acupuncture benefits both men and women on a number of different levels. But particularly looking at men addressing hormonal imbalance and infertility can be difficult.
But with several studies linking acupuncture to benefits that directly impact sperm production, motility, and sperm count, it’s a must-try. And considering things like sleep, digestion, and stress are all interlocked it would make sense that it can negatively impact male sperm.
Combing this kind of treatment with any other treatments that a female may be experiencing such as IVF or even acupuncture herself, increases the odds of fertility between partners. It may be hard to pinpoint the cause but it’s easy to identify the right treatments.
