Acupuncture and Male Infertility

It is well known that sperm counts have been decreasing steadily in the male population in the past few decades. A recent article in the New Scientist states that in one study, sperm counts were seen to have dropped from 87 million per millilitre to 62 million per millilitre between 1989 and 2002. Possible causes range from environmental toxins such as pesticides and chemicals mimicking the action of oestrogen to increases in obesity and excessive drinking. Male infertility is currently thought to be the cause of infertility in around 40% of couples seeking treatment.

The good news is that Chinese medicine can be just as effective for male infertility as it is for female infertilty. If there is a consitutional weakness in the sperm so that the count is low, motility is poor and abnormality is high, Chinese medicine can help by nourishing the kidney energy of the body, which is directly connected to the quality of the sperm.

Any blockage of the pathways that the sperm have to travel down, such as a variocele, are viewed in Chinese medicine as a stagnation of qi and blood in the genital area. In this case, treatment would be aimed at improving the circulation of energy in this area to help resolve the blockage.

Generally the testes like to remain cool (which is why they hang outside the body in the first place), but alcohol, caffeine and prescription or recreational drugs can all have an unwanted heating effect, as can infections, sexually transmitted diseases or mumps. If the sperm quality has been affected by excess heat in the scrotal area, treatment can be very effective in clearing heat from that area and replenishing the cool, nourishing energy of the kidneys.