Acupuncture And Epididymitis

Antibiotics are usually prescribed to treat acute epididymitis, swelling in the tube that connects a man’s testicles to the vas deferens –- the area where sperm is stored and transferred to your urethra. Acupuncture is an alternative treatment for chronic epididymitis, persistent pain and swelling in your groin area. Although acupuncture is likely safe if practiced by a qualified professional, discuss the treatment with your medical doctor.

Causes

Most cases of epididymitis are caused by bacterial infections, usually from sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea and chlamydia. Other causes include E coli, tuberculosis, heart medications, urinary tract infections, kidney stones, prostate infections, erectile dysfunction and vasectomies. Sometimes, inflammation and pain prove persistent despite treatment. Acupuncture is among the treatments for lingering or recurring groin pain.

Acupuncture and Chronic Epididymitis

Dr. J. Curtis Nickel of the urology department at Queen’s University in Canada says chronic epididymitis remains largely a mystery to medical doctors and few treatment options are available to men who suffer from it. Nickel took a survey of patients with chronic epididymitis and said 8 percent included acupuncture among their treatment options. More common options included antibiotics, used by 74 percent of patients, and anti-inflammatory medication, used by 36 percent. About three-quarters of the patients surveyed took pain medication along with acupuncture and other types of treatment, Nickel said in an article published in the Fall 2003 issue of “Review in Urology.”

Case Study

Dr. Alice Brunecky, board-certified in internal medicine, said she used acupuncture to successfully treat a man who had suffered groin pain for 10 years. The pain had initially presented as a case of epididymitis but persisted, possibly complicated by Crohn’s disease – a type of inflammatory bowel disease. She said the man’s pain eased immediately after the first acupuncture treatment but quickly returned. After 10 treatments, however, the man was pain-free, she reported in the Spring/Summer 200 issue of “Medical Acupuncture.” The patient continued maintenance acupuncture therapy once every two to three months.

Considerations

Acupuncture, practiced for thousands of years, has been studied as a treatment for pain, but results are difficult to assess by western standards, according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. It seems to work better for people with a positive attitude about the treatment. Scientists continue to study the effectiveness of acupuncture and possible reasons for its ability to relieve pain. One theory is that acupuncture activates your body’s opiod system -– the part of your brain that responds to pain.