Oriental Medicine and Pain in Obstetrics and Gynecology

Summary

From ancient times, Oriental medicine has described female physiological characteristics in detail and treated pathology as important. There are Oriental medications termed women’s medicines which have been used for many centuries specifically for obstetric and gynecological problems. By correcting abnormal physiological functions holistically, these medications have been effective in producing direct and indirect analgesic effects. In Oriental medicine, the pathology of pain is described by the two expressions “Bu tong zhe tong” and “Tong zhe bu tong” (“obstruction begets pain” and “pain begets obstruction”). According to the theory of air, blood, and water in Oriental medicine, air passages are obstructed, which in turn causes air stasis and results in pain. When the passage of blood is obstructed, circulatory insufficiency ensues, causing ischemia, and blood stasis of water (water poisoning) induces pain. Obstetric and gynecological diseases which have responded to analgesic treatment in Oriental medicine have been classified as: (1) menor-rhalgia, (2) pelvic congestion syndrome (3) lumbago, (4) indefinite complaints, and (5) pain during pregnancy.