The benefits of acupuncture for urinary issues are numerous. It can suppress frequent urination, relieve overactive bladder symptoms, and reduce the frequency of urge urination. Various acupuncture points may be used to address urinary retention, urge incontinence, and stress incontinence. Acupuncture is also helpful for people who experience nocturnal enuresis.

Acupuncture Treatment for Urinary Retention

Acupuncture for urinary retention is an effective treatment option for postoperative urodynamic dysfunction after surgery. 

Acupuncture involves the insertion of a needle into a specific point on the body. The needles stimulate energy meridians and are intended to restore balance to the body. This ancient Chinese therapeutic method has been used to alleviate pain for over 3,000 years. Although it has largely been used to treat pain and other conditions, acupuncture has a number of other qualities that make it an attractive treatment option for people suffering from urinary retention.

Studies have shown that acupuncture is effective for reducing PVR and improving response rates in women with post-hysterectomy urinary retention. 

Treatment of Urinary Incontinence

A recent study by Sandy Engberg presented the results of a prospective, randomized, controlled trial (RCT) on acupuncture for urinary incontinence in women. The participants were women over the age of 25 who had at least two accidents per day and once per week. The study included a bladder diary, which documented incontinence episodes. Interestingly, acupuncture was associated with significant improvements in incontinence episodes for up to 80% of women who underwent acupuncture treatment.

According to the International Continence Society, acupuncture treatment may improve the clinical efficacy of treatment for women suffering from stress urinary incontinence. Acupuncture has also been shown to improve the ICIQ-SF score and urine leakage in a pad test. However, more quality studies are needed to verify these results. 

Acupuncture for urinary incontinent women can help relieve the symptoms of this condition by targeting specific points in the bladder. These points are located at the L2 level and the second sacral foramina. Depending on the level of urinary incontinence, different depths are required for each acupoint. 

Additionally, acupuncture has shown promise in reducing the symptoms of chronic kidney disease, fatigue, and sleep pattern problems. Acupuncture has also have been found to dilate the ureter, and has been proven more effective than conventional therapies for small stones.

Vero Beach Acupuncture for Urological Issues

A growing number of randomized control studies and meta-analyses have shown that acupuncture is effective for treating a variety of urologic diseases. The most frequent cause of abdominal pain during pregnancy is urolithiasis, and case studies and research have shown that acupuncture is effective in improving the frequency of urinary stone passage, especially for stones that are less than 5 mm.

Numerous randomized controlled trials have also shown that acupuncture can effectively manage pain in patients with shock wave lithotripsy and nephrolithiasis. Patients who had acupuncture reported less pain. Patients who received acupuncture through patient-administered pump in addition to traditional medical anesthetic needed less analgesic than the controls. 

Additionally, electro-acupuncture has shown effective in treating overactive bladder. Over the past few decades, randomized controlled trials have shown improvement in incontinence episodes, frequency, urgency, and post-void urine volume.