The intent of acupuncture therapy is to promote health and alleviate pain and suffering. The method by which this is accomplished, though it may seem strange and mysterious to many, it has been time tested over thousands of years and continues to be validated today.
Listen in as Alan Martinez, MD discusses how acupuncture, when combined with IVF treatments, can significantly increase your chance of conception.
Acupuncture and Fertility
Featured Speaker:
After graduating with distinction with a B.S in biology and B.A. in psychology from San Diego State University, Dr. Martinez received his medical degree from the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. He completed his obstetrics and gynecology residency training at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, an affiliate teaching institution with Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. He completed his fellowship training at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
Learn more about Dr. Alan Martinez
Alan Martinez, MD
Dr. Alan Martinez is a specialist in reproductive endocrinology and infertility. He was drawn to this specialty because it is an ever-evolving field of medicine that allows him to partner with patients and provide personalized treatment plans. He also appreciates that the field is filled with the latest laboratory technology, which continues to advance success rates.After graduating with distinction with a B.S in biology and B.A. in psychology from San Diego State University, Dr. Martinez received his medical degree from the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. He completed his obstetrics and gynecology residency training at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, an affiliate teaching institution with Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. He completed his fellowship training at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
Learn more about Dr. Alan Martinez
Transcription:
Acupuncture and Fertility
Melanie Cole (Host): Several studies have found that women who get acupuncture treatments, whether to treat conditions that can interfere with getting pregnant or to increase the chance of a successful IVF, have a higher rate of pregnancies and births. My guest today is Dr. Alan Martinez. He’s a specialist in Reproductive Endocrinology, and Infertility at the Reproductive Science Center of New Jersey. Welcome to the show, Dr. Martinez. So, the intent of acupuncture, speak about how this has such a mysterious form of practice in complementary medicine and speak how you’re bringing this into the medicine of fertility.
Dr. Alan Martinez (Guest): Well, thank you for having me today. It’s a pleasure to be on and speak with you. So, yes, our practice like many others throughout the country and the world are always looking for any sort of advantage we can get when dealing with our infertility patients. Over the last, probably five or ten years, the East-West Medicine – there’s been more research into acupuncture into these sort of Homeopathic, natural modalities that actually may reduce stress levels in the patients. The thought is it may increase blood flow to the reproductive organs, and it can change just the hormonal milieu, as well as the overall stress levels of the patients. I think that that is where most of the research is going and where the evidence is that this simple entity may be helpful with our patient population.
Melanie: So as this continues to be validated and we’re seeing more and more of it, what do you tell patients, Dr. Martinez, that ask you and say, “Acupuncture? Does it hurt? Do I have to lay down?” What goes on when patients ask you some of these questions that maybe acupuncturists have been getting for years?
Dr. Martinez: Yes, so what I basically tell them is that I realize as a patient that you’re under a tremendous amount of stress. Acupuncture is a means and meditative therapy where you put these small needles that go just slightly into the skin and what they do is they cause a stimulation, almost like a little prick – not a pain sensation, but you can put these in various parts of your body. In the world of acupuncture, the Chinese Medicine, there’s these things called meridians that help out with the Chi or the energy. The idea is that there’s these lines of – these paths that go throughout the body. You just basically lay down – some of it can be done sitting up, but they may use different points -- these points throughout the body, and you may sit there for five, ten, twenty minutes and just have a sensation. What it does is, it’s thought – it doesn’t hurt, it is mentally relaxing for many patients, and I tell them, “Hey, sometimes insurance covers this,” which is a nice thing, and if they don’t, people still look into it, and they actually find that things like yoga exercise that it can really help them out mentally and it may help out physically is what some of the evidence show.
Melanie: And so, how does it help fertility -- besides stress reduction, because that’s been well-known for quite a long time -- what else can it do for a woman that’s trying to get pregnant, or may have a condition that interferes with getting pregnant?
Dr. Martinez: Yes, it is thought that it may help regulate the endocrine system. Is it the sole entity? No, but it can definitely, potentially have a role. It can decrease your cortisol levels, which are related to stress, which we know can affect the growth of the eggs and the maturity of the eggs. All of our patients are going through some sort of treatment, and usually, we’re stimulating – we’re promoting egg growth. Any positive influence that can be done through such things as acupuncture, it’s thought that that is where the potential benefit can be.
Melanie: And now, is this something that you can do there at the Reproductive Science Center of New Jersey, or do you send them somewhere else for this?
Dr. Martinez: Currently, we send our patients out to local acupuncturists that we’ve established a relationship with. There are licensed and certified acupuncturists, and that’s who we encourage our patients to go to. We establish a relationship with them that these individuals – to make sure that they are providing a good service to patients. We tell our patients if you’re considering going to see an acupuncturist, talk with them, tell them about your needs. Assess how much this acupuncturist knows about reproductive conditions, and if it’s the right fit for them, then they try it out. For many patients, they get a great amount of benefit. I just wanted to say it actually can be done prior to the treatment, in the middle of treatments, and even after, directly related to a specific fertility treatment, so it can continue throughout your treatment course.
Melanie: How can it help certain conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome?
Dr. Martinez: This is the tricky thing with acupuncture is that we completely – the world does not yet understand exactly the physiology of the acupuncture can potentially be helpful. There are small studies that say it may increase the hormones and make people more likely to grow and develop an egg, decreases stress levels and may help out with egg growth, it can potentially increase blood flow to the uterus, it can balance the endocrine system, it can increase the clinical and ongoing pregnancy rates through either lower level treatments or IVF. The truth is that the studies are small, and this is not the absolute standard of care, but there are a lot of smaller studies, reviews of the current literature that show that it can have a potential benefit. When I explain to patients, I say, “Hey, we don’t know how much this can potentially affect you. We don’t know if it’s going to increase your pregnancy rates by a certain percentage, but we know that it can put your mind in a certain place. It can relieve stress levels, and we know that that can have positive repercussions.”
Melanie: Dr. Martinez, have you seen a difference with some of your patients that you’ve recommended that they try acupuncture therapy, and then they come back to you, and they are more relaxed, or they are better prepared for IVF treatments?
Dr. Martinez: Yes, I have, and this is why I believe it is an entity that can be used in our patients and is recommended because I believe that the potential – any negative aspects are really minimal, and I think that for many patients it forces them to stop, relax, try something new, open up their mind, and potentially be in a better state. I’ve seen patients come back and say, “Hey, I really enjoyed that. That was great. I’m looking forward to continuing this throughout the pregnancy,” and such and such. So yes, I’ve had pretty good success with this.
Melanie: Wrap it up for is, with your best advice, for women that may have questions about acupuncture as it relates to fertility treatments or possible reasons why they may not be getting pregnant.
Dr. Martinez: Obviously, our patients are going to go through the series of medical tests through Westernized Medicine. When you start your fertility treatments, you should consider acupuncture as a possibility, and like I said, it can be covered by insurances, which helps alleviate any sort of financial stress. Many of our patients have tried this, and they enjoy it. It relaxes them. It calms them down. We know that stress plays such an important role, so I say here, we consider that at the Reproductive Science Center of New Jersey. That’s a part of what we do, talk about maintaining a good state of health. As you go through fertility treatments, continuing with your normal activities and this is just another avenue where patients can maybe just get a potential mental benefit as well as a physiologic benefit.
Melanie: Thank you, so much, Dr. Martinez, it’s an absolutely, fascinating topic. You’re listening to Fertility Talk with the Reproductive Science Center of New Jersey, and for more information, you can go to FertilityNJ.com, that’s FertilityNJ.com. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks, so much, for listening.
Acupuncture and Fertility
Melanie Cole (Host): Several studies have found that women who get acupuncture treatments, whether to treat conditions that can interfere with getting pregnant or to increase the chance of a successful IVF, have a higher rate of pregnancies and births. My guest today is Dr. Alan Martinez. He’s a specialist in Reproductive Endocrinology, and Infertility at the Reproductive Science Center of New Jersey. Welcome to the show, Dr. Martinez. So, the intent of acupuncture, speak about how this has such a mysterious form of practice in complementary medicine and speak how you’re bringing this into the medicine of fertility.
Dr. Alan Martinez (Guest): Well, thank you for having me today. It’s a pleasure to be on and speak with you. So, yes, our practice like many others throughout the country and the world are always looking for any sort of advantage we can get when dealing with our infertility patients. Over the last, probably five or ten years, the East-West Medicine – there’s been more research into acupuncture into these sort of Homeopathic, natural modalities that actually may reduce stress levels in the patients. The thought is it may increase blood flow to the reproductive organs, and it can change just the hormonal milieu, as well as the overall stress levels of the patients. I think that that is where most of the research is going and where the evidence is that this simple entity may be helpful with our patient population.
Melanie: So as this continues to be validated and we’re seeing more and more of it, what do you tell patients, Dr. Martinez, that ask you and say, “Acupuncture? Does it hurt? Do I have to lay down?” What goes on when patients ask you some of these questions that maybe acupuncturists have been getting for years?
Dr. Martinez: Yes, so what I basically tell them is that I realize as a patient that you’re under a tremendous amount of stress. Acupuncture is a means and meditative therapy where you put these small needles that go just slightly into the skin and what they do is they cause a stimulation, almost like a little prick – not a pain sensation, but you can put these in various parts of your body. In the world of acupuncture, the Chinese Medicine, there’s these things called meridians that help out with the Chi or the energy. The idea is that there’s these lines of – these paths that go throughout the body. You just basically lay down – some of it can be done sitting up, but they may use different points -- these points throughout the body, and you may sit there for five, ten, twenty minutes and just have a sensation. What it does is, it’s thought – it doesn’t hurt, it is mentally relaxing for many patients, and I tell them, “Hey, sometimes insurance covers this,” which is a nice thing, and if they don’t, people still look into it, and they actually find that things like yoga exercise that it can really help them out mentally and it may help out physically is what some of the evidence show.
Melanie: And so, how does it help fertility -- besides stress reduction, because that’s been well-known for quite a long time -- what else can it do for a woman that’s trying to get pregnant, or may have a condition that interferes with getting pregnant?
Dr. Martinez: Yes, it is thought that it may help regulate the endocrine system. Is it the sole entity? No, but it can definitely, potentially have a role. It can decrease your cortisol levels, which are related to stress, which we know can affect the growth of the eggs and the maturity of the eggs. All of our patients are going through some sort of treatment, and usually, we’re stimulating – we’re promoting egg growth. Any positive influence that can be done through such things as acupuncture, it’s thought that that is where the potential benefit can be.
Melanie: And now, is this something that you can do there at the Reproductive Science Center of New Jersey, or do you send them somewhere else for this?
Dr. Martinez: Currently, we send our patients out to local acupuncturists that we’ve established a relationship with. There are licensed and certified acupuncturists, and that’s who we encourage our patients to go to. We establish a relationship with them that these individuals – to make sure that they are providing a good service to patients. We tell our patients if you’re considering going to see an acupuncturist, talk with them, tell them about your needs. Assess how much this acupuncturist knows about reproductive conditions, and if it’s the right fit for them, then they try it out. For many patients, they get a great amount of benefit. I just wanted to say it actually can be done prior to the treatment, in the middle of treatments, and even after, directly related to a specific fertility treatment, so it can continue throughout your treatment course.
Melanie: How can it help certain conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome?
Dr. Martinez: This is the tricky thing with acupuncture is that we completely – the world does not yet understand exactly the physiology of the acupuncture can potentially be helpful. There are small studies that say it may increase the hormones and make people more likely to grow and develop an egg, decreases stress levels and may help out with egg growth, it can potentially increase blood flow to the uterus, it can balance the endocrine system, it can increase the clinical and ongoing pregnancy rates through either lower level treatments or IVF. The truth is that the studies are small, and this is not the absolute standard of care, but there are a lot of smaller studies, reviews of the current literature that show that it can have a potential benefit. When I explain to patients, I say, “Hey, we don’t know how much this can potentially affect you. We don’t know if it’s going to increase your pregnancy rates by a certain percentage, but we know that it can put your mind in a certain place. It can relieve stress levels, and we know that that can have positive repercussions.”
Melanie: Dr. Martinez, have you seen a difference with some of your patients that you’ve recommended that they try acupuncture therapy, and then they come back to you, and they are more relaxed, or they are better prepared for IVF treatments?
Dr. Martinez: Yes, I have, and this is why I believe it is an entity that can be used in our patients and is recommended because I believe that the potential – any negative aspects are really minimal, and I think that for many patients it forces them to stop, relax, try something new, open up their mind, and potentially be in a better state. I’ve seen patients come back and say, “Hey, I really enjoyed that. That was great. I’m looking forward to continuing this throughout the pregnancy,” and such and such. So yes, I’ve had pretty good success with this.
Melanie: Wrap it up for is, with your best advice, for women that may have questions about acupuncture as it relates to fertility treatments or possible reasons why they may not be getting pregnant.
Dr. Martinez: Obviously, our patients are going to go through the series of medical tests through Westernized Medicine. When you start your fertility treatments, you should consider acupuncture as a possibility, and like I said, it can be covered by insurances, which helps alleviate any sort of financial stress. Many of our patients have tried this, and they enjoy it. It relaxes them. It calms them down. We know that stress plays such an important role, so I say here, we consider that at the Reproductive Science Center of New Jersey. That’s a part of what we do, talk about maintaining a good state of health. As you go through fertility treatments, continuing with your normal activities and this is just another avenue where patients can maybe just get a potential mental benefit as well as a physiologic benefit.
Melanie: Thank you, so much, Dr. Martinez, it’s an absolutely, fascinating topic. You’re listening to Fertility Talk with the Reproductive Science Center of New Jersey, and for more information, you can go to FertilityNJ.com, that’s FertilityNJ.com. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks, so much, for listening.