Sperm health is essential in a couple’s journey towards conception. Sperm count, sperm motility and sperm morphology are all factors that determine fertility and Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine can aid in increasing counts as well as improving motility and morphology.

Please visit the following sections for more information:

Sperm Health

Sexual Dysfunction

Prostate Health

Prostatitis

Prostate Cancer

Sperm Health

The World Health Organization (WHO) considers men with a sperm count of less than 20 million/mL of semen to be at risk of being infertile. However, this is not completely reliable because some men with low sperm count can be fertile while some men with higher sperm counts prove to be infertile.

Statistics show that 50% of couples experiencing infertility involve male infertility factors such as:

• Oligospermia (low sperm count)
• Azoospermia (no sperm at all in the semen sample)
• Aspermia (absence of any semen or ejaculate – very rare)
• Varicocele (varicose veins around the testicle and vas deferens
• Hdyrocele (excessive fluid present around the testicle)
• Retorgrade ejaculation (ejaculate backwards into the bladder, usually a result of surgery to the urethra and is a rare condition)

Semen analysis is conducted when assessing male fertility. The semen sample is tested for:

• Semen Volume – consistency and quality of semen (Normal range = 2ml to 6ml)
• Sperm Count (Risk of infertility = less than 20 million/ML semen; Sterile = less than 500,000 per mL)
• Motility – percentage of active sperm (Normal = 50% of sperm is still active after 2 hours)
• Morphology – sperm shape (60% of sperm has normal shape and appearance)
• Presence of elements other than sperm (e.g. white blood cells) indicating infection or damage.

Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese medicine can help to:

• increase sperm production
• increase percentage of healthy sperm
• improve sperm movement (motility)
• improve the levels of hormones responsible for fertility

Acupuncture and Chinese medicine can be effectively used to improve sperm health. This is especially important for improving fertility and can be useful when couples are trying to conceive or undergo fertility treatments.

Treatment plans will incorporate a combination of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. Treatment plans will range from 3-9 months depending on the condition. It requires a minimum of 3 months for new sperm to form.

Sexual Dysfunction

Erectile Dysfunction formerly called Impotence is a topic that is not commonly discussed and for a long time was considered taboo. The inability of performing sexually can interfere with a man’s self esteem and confidence leading to frustration, dissatisfaction and resentment.

Erectile Dysfunction can refer to a range of disorders; the most common is the “inability to obtain an adequate erection for satisfactory sexual activity”. It can also include the curvature of the penis during erection, prolonged painful erection and premature ejaculation. We are gaining better understanding of the cause and sources of the disorder and in order to understand where the problem lies we must understand the physiological changes required to sustain a normal erection.

The physiological changes required include:

• Arousal
• Nervous System – arousal signals the nervous system to increase blood flow to the penis
• Blood Vessels – the blood vessels relax allowing increased blood flow to the penis

If any of the above steps do not occur an erection cannot be sustained. In addition, factors such as stress, anxiety, depression, fatigue and drugs can also cause this disorder. Drug induced erectile dysfunction has been found to be more prevalent with the use of prescriptive drugs such as cimetidine, antihypertensives and MAO inhibitors.

Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture can provide a safe natural alternative to helping men with this disorder. The practitioner will determine the diagnosis based on Chinese medical theory, determining whether acupuncture or herbal medicine or a combination of both would be the best means of treatment. Treatment plans would generally range from a minimum of 10 -20 sessions at once a week.

Prostate Health

The health of your prostate can affect sperm count and quality of ejaculation, ensuring that your prostate is healthy will aid fertility.

Benigh prostatic Hypertrophy (BPH)

An enlarged prostate is not uncommon in men over 50 years of age. This can eventually lead to benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) causing symptoms such as:

• Difficulty starting urination
• Frequent urination especially at night
• Inability to urinate or weak urinary stream and dribbling
• Urge to urinate even immediately after urinating

Acupuncture can help alleviate these symptoms while also decreasing prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels. This antigen is important to monitor, low levels present in your blood work is normal but high levels may indicate cancerous cells.

Prostatitis

The prostate can also become inflamed due to a bacterial or non-bacterial infection causing prostatitis. Symptoms of prostatitis include:

• Fever and chills
• Pain the lower back, genital area or rectum
• Burning pain during urination
• Urgency and frequent urination

A combination of acupuncture and herbs can alleviate this condition while preventing future bouts of prostatitis.

Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is one of the most treatable types of cancer when caught early in its stage. For this reason, it is vitally important for men over the age of 40 to see their doctor for an annual physical. Acupuncture can alleviate and treat BPH and prostatitis by increasing blood flow and energy flow to the prostate to remove stagnation and pressure.*

* R. Chen and J.C. Nickel. Acupuncture effective in reducing pain, improving urinary function and quality of life in men suffering from chronic prostatitis.