Men's Health Series: How Acupuncture treats Men Infertility according to Science

As mentioned in the previous article, both men and women play a part in the pregnancy process and that acupuncture is able to help both genders to improve the individual health conditions to increase the chances of success for pregnancy.



In this article, we will focus on how acupuncture can help men infertility as explained by Science.

Causes of Men Infertility



The causes of men infertility can be divided into four main categories: biological causes, lifestyle risk factors, environmental risk factors and socio-demographic risk factors.



Biological defects in sperms



Defects in sperms due to insufficient numbers (azoospermia/oligospermia), poor motility of sperms, abnormal structure and morphology of sperms are some of the leading causes of men infertility.



Some of the common reasons for such biological defects to occur in sperms are genito-urinary tract infections, testicular or prostate inflammation, hormone imbalance, surgeries such as hernia repair procedures.



There are also risk factors that can result in biological defects in sperms such as genetics abnormalities, gene mutations.



Poor Lifestyle



Smoking, alcohol, untreated sexually transmitted infections, having multiple sex partners, obesity, frequent medications are some of the lifestyle and behavioral risk factors that can result in men infertility.



Exposure to environmental toxins



Toxic metals, pesticides, industrial chemicals, radiation can also reduce men fertility by directly toxifying the sperms.



How Acupuncture treats Men Infertility according to Science



Improves Hormone Systems



In men, the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular (HPT) axis is the system that regulates testis functions. Acupuncture can regulate the follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels and eventually result in the increase in testosterone (T) level which will improve the semen and sperm quality.



Boosts quantity of Sertoli cells and Leydig cells needed for sperm production



Sertoli cells are crucial in producing sperms and reduction in number of Sertoli cells will result in decrease in Leydig cells which will then decrease men fertility.



Acupuncture can promote the proliferation of Sertoli cells and Leydig cells which can eventually lead to the increase of sperm production.



Reduces and prevents oxidative stress



Oxidative stress coming from infections, pollutions, exposure to radiation can cause damage to sperm cells and result in them dying off at an accelerated rate, hence causing men infertility.



Acupuncture can prevent oxidative stress by improving circulation in the body and clearing off the possible toxins coming from oxidative stress factors. In other words, acupuncture is acting as an antioxidant for the body.



Improves blood flow



Sufficient blood supply is necessary for normal sperm production. Any disruption in the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the testis will result in the poor sperm production and therefore men infertility.



Acupuncture can improve the microcirculation of testis which can result in increased sperm production, concentration and motility.



Anti inflammation



Common infections of the men genital tract such as Chlamydia and Mycoplasma can decrease sperm motility and cause abnormal sperm production. With inflammation coming from infections, white blood cells will be produced which leads to radical oxidation that can damage the sperm.



 Acupuncture has antiinflammatory effects and can also regulate cytokine secretion which treats infection indirectly.

Read another blog post on Men’s Health: How Acupuncture Treats BPH according to Science

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TCM(Traditional Chin Med), TCM Wellness, TCM and Science, Basics of TCM, TCM AestheticsXiang Jun LimDr (TCM) Xiang Juntcm, acupuncture, traditional chinese medicine, western medicine, hormonal imbalance, infertility, science, gene, cells, molecules, men health