The National Institutes of Health have reported that acupuncture can be effective in alleviating menstrual cramps and associated discomforts like bloating, dizziness, and vomiting. Some women are so severely affected by menstrual cramps that they must miss work and may be relegated to bed for a few days every month.
Acupuncture has been used in China for 2,600 years or more. More doctors of western medicine are now making use of acupuncture to relieve their patients' pain. Other types of treatments used for alleviating menstrual cramps are pain relievers (analgesics), exercise, and application of heat.
"In a review of 27 studies that involved nearly 3,000 women, researchers from the Oriental Hospital at Kyung Hee University Medical Center in South Korea found that acupuncture may be more effective than drugs or herbal medicines."
According to this research, it would seem that acupuncture stimulates the production of endorphins and serotonin, which are neurotransmitters. Both endorphins and serotonin produce a sense of well-being.
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