Q I can't get through work without painkillers. Can herbal medicine really reduce menstrual cramps?
A Herbal medicine and acupuncture are used to support uterine blood flow and relieve pain. Unlike painkillers that suppress pain moment by moment, this approach changes the underlying state of the body in which pain tends to occur, aiming to lower the intensity and frequency of the pain that recurs each month.
Detailed Answer
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have the advantage of quickly suppressing pain the moment it arises. Korean medicine treatment, on the other hand, focuses on adjusting the bodily foundation in which pain recurs each month, and the two approaches do not conflict—they are sometimes used together during periods of severe pain.
Korean Medicine Clinic Perspective
At the clinic, we concentrate on creating a circulatory state in which pain is less likely to occur, through warming the cold, blocked uterus (ongung, warming the uterus) and dispersing the clotted blood stasis (hwalhyeol, invigorating blood). The key is not simply suppressing the painful symptom, but addressing the reason the same pain repeats every month.
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