Menstrual Disorders
Chinese medicine has treated the endometriosis pattern for centuries, focused on circulation and hormone clearance.
Endometriosis
A diagnosis that took years to get deserves a plan that treats the pain, the cycle, and the fertility together.
Endometriosis is tissue like the uterine lining growing outside the uterus, where it bleeds with each cycle and has nowhere to go. Some women are debilitated by it; others have no symptoms until they try to conceive. Chinese medicine has treated this presentation for centuries under the heading of blood stasis, and the approach spans the pain, the period, and the fertility at once.
Reviewed by Dr. Susan G. Schiff, A.P., DOM. Last reviewed October 2026.
Understanding
endometriosis
Endometrial-like tissue on the ovaries, the pelvic lining, or the bowel responds to the cycle's hormones, bleeding and inflaming each month and leaving scar tissue and adhesions behind. The result is dysmenorrhea that worsens over the years, pain between periods or with intercourse, heavy bleeding, and in many women reduced fertility. Diagnosis often takes years; ultrasound can miss it, and laparoscopy is the definitive test.
The old menstrual disorders page notes that although endometriosis was not clearly diagnosed until recent times, Chinese medicine has long treated the pattern: blood stasis, in plain words circulation that has stagnated and pooled, usually on top of Qi stagnation or cold. The treatment principle is to move blood and clear stasis, with attention to the liver function that breaks down and eliminates excess hormones.
Medical treatment manages the disease. Our work is the pain, the cycle, and the conditions for conceiving.
Chinese medicine has treated the endometriosis pattern for centuries, focused on circulation and hormone clearance.
Endometriosis is a common reason conception is slow, and treatment addresses both together.
Pelvic pain between periods is treated directly while the underlying pattern is worked on.
How we work on it
Under menstrual disorders, treatment is a weekly series with a Chinese herbal formula prescribed to move blood and clear stasis, whole food nutrition to reduce inflammation, and acupuncture at acupoints on the lower abdomen, sacrum, and legs. Needling stimulates endorphin release and calms the autonomic nervous system, which is the physiological account of pain relief; our endometriosis article covers what the trials measured.
For pelvic pain between periods, the pain approach is used directly while the cycle work continues. And because endometriosis is one of the most common reasons conception is slow, fertility care folds in when you are trying: the same weekly rhythm, planned in three-month blocks to match follicle development, with attention to the uterine blood flow that implantation depends on.
What the evidence shows
The trials are small. Several report meaningful reductions in pelvic pain scores after a course of acupuncture compared with sham or no treatment, and a 2017 review concluded the evidence is promising but limited by study size and quality. There is no evidence that acupuncture shrinks endometrial lesions, and we do not claim it does. It is support for pain and the cycle alongside your gynecologist's plan, whether that is hormonal suppression, surgery, or watchful waiting.
The decision rule: pain that is worsening, pain with intercourse, or difficulty conceiving after six to twelve months should go to your physician for evaluation, and laparoscopy is a surgical decision made there. Acupuncture and herbs fit before, after, and alongside it, and Dr. Schiff has treated women's health and fertility for over 20 years, working with the gynecologists and reproductive endocrinologists in South Florida.
Where we would start.
Listed in the order we most often recommend them for endometriosis. Your first visit decides which actually fits your pattern and your goals.
Fertility
Endometriosis is a common reason conception is slow, and treatment addresses both together.
Pain
Pelvic pain between periods is treated directly while the underlying pattern is worked on.
Questions we hearfrom patients dealing with endometriosis.
Small trials report meaningful reductions in pelvic pain after a course of acupuncture, and a 2017 review called the evidence promising but limited. It does not shrink lesions. We treat it as support for pain and the cycle alongside your gynecologist's plan.
Many women do, some with help. Endometriosis reduces fertility through inflammation, adhesions, and effects on the ovaries and lining, and a reproductive endocrinologist can assess how much it matters in your case. Fertility care here folds into the endometriosis plan when you are trying.
Yes. Acupuncture does not interfere with hormonal suppression, and it is often used for pain and recovery around laparoscopy. Tell us what you are taking so the herbal formula is chosen with it in mind, and keep your physician informed about the herbs.
Weekly at first, planned in three-month blocks because the cycle and, if relevant, follicle development both run on that timeline. Pain often responds sooner than the cycle does, and the plan is adjusted as your body responds.
Where to next?
Does acupuncture help endometriosis pain?
Learn More
Acupuncture can reduce endometriosis pain for some patients and is used alongside medical management. A Cochrane review found only one adequate trial.
Read the answerCan acupuncture help with painful periods?
Learn More
For primary dysmenorrhea, trials report less pain and less use of painkillers, though a Cochrane review called the evidence insufficient.
Read the answerPainful Periods
Related concern
Cramps that stop your month.
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Over 25 years of serving patients in South Florida. Tell us what has been going on and we will work out the pattern behind it together.
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