Effects of acupuncture and Moxa treatment in patients with semen abnormalities
In a prospective, controlled, and blind study, a group of infertile men (married for 3-11 years without children) were randomized into two groups: the treatment group receiving 10 acupuncture treatments and the control group receiving sham acupuncture treatments. The patients in the acupuncture group demonstrated a significant increase in the percentage of normal forms compared to the control group.
Abstract
Aim: To evaluate the effect of Chinese Traditional Medicine, acupuncture, and moxa treatment on the semen quality in patients with semen abnormalities.
Methods: In a prospective, controlled, and blind study, nineteen patients, aged 24-42 and married for 3-11 years without children with semen abnormalities in concentration, morphology, and/or progressive motility without apparent cause were randomized into two groups and submitted to acupuncture and moxa treatment at the therapeutic (study group) and the indifferent points (control group), respectively, for 10 weeks. Semen analyses were performed before and after the treatment course.
Results: The patients of the study group presented a significant increase in the percentage of normal-form sperm compared to the control group (calculated U=16.0, critical U=17.0).
Conclusion: The Chinese Traditional Medicine acupuncture and moxa techniques significantly increase the percentage of normal-form sperm in infertile patients with oligoastenoteratozoospermia without apparent cause.
