From the TCM's (Traditional Chinese Medicine) perspective, hemorrhoids are caused by dampness and excessive heat in the lower body and qi deficiency in the spleen. Many factors can lead to the development of hemorrhoids, for instance, diarrhea, chronic constipation, aging, a diet with low fiber, frequently carrying heavy objects, sitting for too long, and pregnancy. Bleeding or enlarged hemorrhoids may be very painful. Most people suffering from hemorrhoids look for both short-term relief and long-term solutions.

Western medicine recommends surgery as the long-term solution. The surgical procedure itself is painful and tends to interfere with your capability to control sphincter muscles after that. Repeat surgery is also often required after some years. TCM practitioners usually use acupuncture, herbal formula, and diet suggestions to cure hemorrhoids. Acupuncture is beneficial when it comes to treating hemorrhoids. The treatment might take a lengthier period than a surgical procedure, but there are lesser chances of relapse.

Acupuncture Is an Ideal Option for Treating Hemorrhoids

Hemorrhoids refer to a painful condition occurring around the human body's anal region. They are characterized by the swelling and inflammation of blood vessels, causing difficulty in defecating or constipation, bleeding, fissures and boils, and other associated conditions. Hemorrhoids, also called piles, can be external or internal. Even though they might be painless, internal hemorrhoids may cause rupture accompanied by bleeding. External piles are painful and could result in rupture, bleeding, and swelling. Some treatments, such as rubber band ligation, can be a treatment option for hemorrhoids. This treatment involves tying a rubber band to the internal piles to cut off any blood flow to them. After several days of zero blood supply, the hemorrhoids wither up and fall off themselves.

Surgery cauterization, as we mentioned, and modern medication could also be utilized to treat advances or severe hemorrhoid cases. However, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) alleges that acupuncture treatment is an effective, easy, and safer way to treat external and internal hemorrhoids.

Acupuncture refers to a method used by traditional or ancient Chinese medicine that utilizes special needles. These needles are carefully placed (inserted) into specific pressure points in the human body that correspond to vital body organs like the kidneys, heart, lungs, and liver. The purpose of these needles is to stimulate or activate body pressure points through which particular energy is expected to travel along unique paths or channels called meridians. This is the basic theory of how acupuncture works in TCM.

Per TCM, hemorrhoids arise due to dampness and heat build-up around/in the anus and lower body, like the intestines. If your body is subjected to humid conditions and a sticky and hot temperature for so long without being dried, hemorrhoids may arise as it is this humidity, dampness, and heat that cause the swelling of blood vessels.

An acupuncture treatment chart indicates all the lines of the meridian where energy runs along paths in the body, including the anal area. But what is more interesting is the pressure points (acupressure points) for piles using the acupuncture technique are not found around the anal area but far from it.

An example of a pressure point used for treating piles is located at the top of the head. Another pressure point is found at the back of the leg calf. The top of the head is utilized as a pressure point for treating hemorrhoids because it can absorb any bad energy coming from the lower area of the anus and remove it from the body via the top of the head.

You may be worried by the notion of the acupuncture treatment technique for piles involving needles being inserted in a private, highly sensitive area. That is not true. The ‘’Sea of Yang’’ is the path running from the rectum up along the spinal cord to the top of the head, then down to the mouth, controlling Yang energy all through the body. Acupuncturists use pressure points along this meridian, on the top of the head, and in other body parts to remove excessive dampness and heat from the region where the piles are.

Types Of Hemorrhoids That Work With Acupuncture Treatment

The top five forms of piles presentation in Traditional Chinese Medicine include:

  • Intestinal Dryness— particularly in California, where we experience hot and dry weather with no practice of drinking lots of water, people tend to constipate, even pass bowel twice or only once a week. Intestinal dryness hemorrhoids occur because of dry, uncomfortable bowel movements. They may be characterized by bleeding and itching. Adding more moisturizing types of foods (ripe bananas, sesame oil, chia, flax seeds, prunes, yam, sweet potatoes) and a lot of water (warm) to your diet will help you.

  • Lower Jiao Heat/Fire— this type of hemorrhoid happens when the lower body has too much fire. People with this form of hemorrhoids tend to experience more bleeding, particularly triggered by consuming spicy food, crunchy food, and alcohol. These hemorrhoids feel sore, come with a burning sensation, and usually bleed, particularly when wiping.

  • Blood Stasis— this form of hemorrhoids is more prevalent due to people’s modern lifestyle. For instance, sitting for too long for worK compromises blood circulation. Studies show that nine out of ten people who sit for so long will develop piles. These hemorrhoids appear swollen, red and perhaps bleeding.

  • Spleen Qi Sinking— this type of hemorrhoid occurs in thinner persons, who, apart from having piles, all their organs appear to be unusually lower. These people might also have poor digestion and a prolapsed uterus or bladder.

  • Spleen Qi Deficiency— spleen qi deficiency is when a person tends to have gas, bloating, poor digestion, diarrhea, and visiting the bathroom more often. The piles feel swollen, though not that red.

How Treatment Works

TCM spells out that we are healthy because the "yin" & "yang'' of qi balance harmoniously. Illnesses are believed to result when these forces are not balanced. Qi is believed to flow via pathways or meridians in the body. These energy flows and meridians are accessible via 350 acupoints in the entire body. Placing needles in these acupoints with proper combinations can restore energy to appropriate balance. No scientific evidence yet proves that acupuncture points or meridians exist. It is also difficult to establish whether or not they exist. However, several studies deduce that acupuncture treatment works for hemorrhoids.

Experts have explained acupuncture using neuroscience. Acupoints are viewed as points where connective tissue, muscles, and nerves are stimulated. This stimulation improves blood flow and triggers the activities of the natural painkillers in the body.

It is challenging to do investigations using appropriate scientific controls due to acupuncture's invasive nature. In clinical studies, control groups would need to go through a placebo or sham treatment for the outcome to be compared with people who have undergone true acupuncture treatment. Some research studies have deduced that acupuncture comes with similar advantages as a placebo, while others have concluded that it comes with some actual benefits.

What You Should Expect

As we mentioned, the TCM theory provides that acupressure points or acupoints are found on meridians via which essential energy travels. This energy is called "qi" (pronounced as chi). Your acupuncture practitioner will examine you and assess your condition, place one or several sterile, thin needles and advise you about self-care and other complementary therapy treatments like Chinese herbs and formulas.

The acupuncturist will ask you to lie in position. They should only use sterile, one-use disposable needles to carry out the treatment. You may experience a brief tingling or stinging sensation as they insert each needle. After they insert the needle, there is sometimes a dull ache at the needle base that then goes away. Usually, acupuncture is relatively painless. The needles may sometimes be stimulated or heated with electricity once inserted. The needles stay in position for five to thirty minutes. How many treatments are needed depends on the person. If your hemorrhoids are severe, you may require one or two treatments in one week over many months. An acute condition usually improves after eight to twelve sessions.

Why You Should Consider Acupuncture to Treat Hemorrhoids

Acupuncture treatment for hemorrhoids comes with several advantages. Some of these are:

  • It can help you if pain medications are not suitable

  • It can control other kinds of pain

  • Acupuncture can effectively be combined with other treatments

  • You will experience very few side effects

  • It is safe if performed correctly

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) advises patients not to opt for acupuncture before seeing a conventional health care provider.

What Are the Risks?

All therapy procedures have risks and benefits. Potential risks associated with acupuncture treatment for hemorrhoids are:

  • A needle might break, damaging internal organs, though this rarely happens

  • Unsterilized needles could infect you

  • Soreness, bruising, and bleeding may occur at the insertion sites

  • It is a dangerous technique if you take blood thinners or have a bleeding disorder

The U.S FDA (Food and Drug Administration); regulates acupuncture needles as medical devices. The labeling and manufacture of these devices must meet specific standards. They must be non-toxic, sterile and a licensed professional must label them for single-use only.

Moxibustion In Acupuncture Treatment for Hemorrhoids

We have two kinds of moxibustion— indirect and direct. The acupuncturist places a cone-shaped, small amount of moxa over acupressure points and burns it when it comes to direct moxibustion. Expounded on deeper, direct moxibustion is either non-scarring or scarring. For non-scarring moxibustion, the acupuncturist places the moxa on the acupressure points and lights it, but it is removed or extinguished before it can burn the skin. Under scarring moxibustion, the moxa burns over the acupressure points until it is finished. You will experience a pleasant heating sensation penetrating deeper into your skin. You should not feel any scarring, blistering, or pain unless the acupuncturist leaves the moxa in position for so long.

Indirect moxibustion is the most popular as it has a lower burning or pain risk. Here, an acupuncturist will light one side of a moxa stick then hold it near the affected area for some time until the place becomes red. Another type of indirect moxibustion utilizes both moxa and acupuncture needles. The acupuncturist inserts a needle into an acupressure point and retains it. After that, they wrap the needle tip with moxa then ignite it. The ignited moxa generates heat in that acupressure point plus the neighboring area. Once you feel relieved, the acupuncturist extinguishes the moxa and takes out the needle.

A combination of moxibustion and acupuncture can be effective for relieving pain quickly. TCM formulations used externally and internally can assist in alleviating pain and inflammation.

One research about acupuncture treatment for internal piles indicated that 86 percent of patients were healed after twenty-four days, whereas another eight percent showed considerable improvement. Your acupuncturist will also inform you about changes you could make in your bathroom habits and diet that will assist you in having things move more easily.

In addition to acupuncture treatment, kegel exercises can help heal all these hemorrhoid types, strengthening the sphincter muscles, bringing more blood circulation to the affected region, and adding more overall movement. During bedtime, upside down, bicycle movements in the air, and leg lifts are ideal exercises you can perform without exerting pressure on the lower body.

Theoretically, when digestion is smooth, between five and seven o'clock in the morning, people should naturally want to pass the bowel, fast and without much effort to push. Whenever you sit on the toilet seat for so long, the pressure resulting in hemorrhoids is created.

Find Acupuncture Treatment Services for Hemorrhoids Near Me

Trinity Acupuncture is a holistic healing clinic specializing in treating various medical conditions and ailments using Traditional Chinese Medicine. We have licensed and board-certified acupuncturists who offer efficient and confidential acupuncture treatment services for various illnesses, including hemorrhoids. You will be sure to receive the best service and treatment once you visit this very compassionate, nurturing, and professional clinic. Call us at 310-371-1777 to share your situation and for a consultation. We offer acupuncture treatment services in Torrance, CA.