Male Fertility and Acupuncture

It’s true that almost 75% of our fertility cases are the women who are fertility challenged, but sometimes the men have challenges as well.  If they are that 25%, our treatment is very similar to when it’s a female factor issue, acupuncture weekly, herbs daily, but for men—the addition of tons of antioxidants!

Regardless if men fall into that 25%, we still like to see them at least once for an initial appointment to get a sense of how we can boost the count, motility and morphology of the sperm, basically there is always room for improvement! From there we can figure out the best treatment plan for them, sometimes men end up enjoying the acupuncture treatment so much, they continue with us weekly during the baby making process, while others receive herbs all month long and only have a monthly acupuncture treatment. We do whatever works, whatever is comfortable for the patient, while still holding our expertise and recommendations in high regard.

It’s also true that men are much more simple—in life and in the fertility world, things are a lot more straight-forward.  Just like in Western medicine, we consider the sperm count, sperm motility and sperm morphology, respectively that’s how many, how fast and how good are they looking!

Not sure what your sperm analysis should look like?  (And if you don’t have one yet, we are happy to send you for an analysis!)

• Sperm Count 20 million or more
• Motility 50% or more.
• Morphology 30% or more, this is based on WHO testing. Obtaining a stricter test like the Kruger is advised, which is 14%.
• If someone has any issues with Sperm Count a DNA fragmentation test is necessary.
• DNA Fragmentation test results
• 0-15% good
• 15% -29% fair to poor
• Anything above 29% is problematic.

If there are problems with any of the above, we can help with acupuncture treatments, herbal medicine and antioxidant supplementation.

Chinese medicine looks at things completely different than Western medicine– so there is so much that you can achieve when using both medicines together to get you to the end goal of parenthood.  For example, a man with a low sperm count could mean (from a Chinese point of view) he has cold or heat in the Liver meridian or channel, or there’s a Yang issue or Liver blood issue.  If there is a challenge around morphology, he may have an essence or Jing situation or maybe a blood deficiency.  Lastly, if there is an issue with motility, he could be experiencing Liver coldness, blood deficiency or a dampness issue.  I know most of these words seem like Greek to you, but we just wanted to show you how differently we look at the body.

Remember, any issues with sperm count, motility or morphology is a symptom of a deeper imbalance, most often that patient will have other symptoms (like low energy, trouble sleeping, inflammation or other things) that accompany these imbalances in his sperm so therefore when treated ALL his symptoms are alleviated.

Here’s a list of the most common results (or technically side effects) our male fertility patients report while they are in our care:

• Boosted immune system, little to no colds and/or flus
• A deeper and better quality sleep
• Less inflammation—pain overall including less headaches
• More stamina in the bedroom
• A better, balanced digestion
• A feeling of less stress
• More energy

And here are a few guidelines that you can follow for overall health when dealing with fertility challenges:

• Eat organic and free range.
• Internationally known male fertility specialist, Dr Paul Turek says, “I firmly believe in the standard “paleolithic diet,” rich in protein, fruits, vegetables and nuts, is optimal for men’s reproductive health.
• Eat foods rich in antioxidants
• Avoid sugar
• Avoid excessive consumption of alcohol, especially beer.
• Avoid smoking of any kind.
• Avoid hot tubs, saunas and excessively hot showers.
• Avoid bike riding
• Avoid Visine, antihistamine or decongestants; they inhibit capillary dilation.
• Do NOT carry cell phones in pants pockets or belts.
• Do NOT work with a laptop directly on your lap, usea tabletop.

Research Studies

Did you know that men who use their laptop on their lap could also be causing havoc on their sperm?  Research shows that when the scrotal temp goes up even just one degree, that can kill off sperm and lower your sperm count.  Recently, researchers have been going to the next level with WIFI, you guessed in studies that showed that WIFI are effecting motility in a negative way.  A recent study that was published in Fertility and Sterility magazine took two sets of samples, one was put under a laptop with a WIFI signal for four hours, the other sample–  no laptop, no WIFI.  After four hours, the laptop sample showed that 25% of the sperm had stopped swimming and 9% of the sperm actually had DNA fragmentation.  And that’s only after 4 hours!  How many hours a month do you have your laptop on your lap?

The same goes for cell phones, it’s all too common today that men are carrying their cell phones in their jeans or cargo shorts pockets or on their belt.  Research says the proximity of these cell phones so close to the male genitalia are zapping the testicles and causing adverse DNA reactions to sperm.

In conclusion, we are here and have a ton of success in helping men get those numbers up!  One thing we mentioned earlier is sex drive—we know that when couples are trying to get pregnant, sex can become mechanical and sometimes difficult when you have to perform on demand every month for sometimes 10 days in a row!  It can start to become cumbersome, so while we are helping you boost your essence, AKA DNA, we can also use certain acupuncture points to help increase your sex drive, relax any frustrations, agitations and stress, settle any tightness in your body and regulate your hormones to help make the baby making experience a wonderful one!