How Acupuncture Can Help with Ovarian Cancer Treatment Side Effects

Dr. Mari Galle Cancer Rehab & Integrative Medicine

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How Acupuncture Can Help During Ovarian Cancer Treatment

Inserting needles at certain pressure points in the abdomen, the wrists, and around the knees has been shown to help to alleviate nausea, constipation, and diarrhea
Other pressure points, some located on the top of the head, can help to alleviate the fatigue and insomnia that can sometimes result from ovarian cancer treatment

You have heard of acupuncture as a traditional Chinese medicine. It’s now become fairly mainstream, and a quite respected integrative therapy that involves a specialized practitioner inserting thin needles into certain pressure points in the body to help alleviate symptoms. During ovarian cancer treatment, acupuncture can be used alongside your treatment to help with conditions such as scar tissue and or nerve pain know as neuropathy. Importantly, acupuncture should never be a replacement for doctor-prescribed treatment, but rather as a complement to be given alongside treatment to help with side effects.

Dr. Mari Galle, a licensed acupuncturist with Cancer Rehab & Integrative Medicine in Austin, Texas says that acupuncture, when administered at certain pressure points during chemotherapy, can help decrease inflammation in the gut and calm the stomach down.

“So when people might feel a little anxious or nauseous during chemo or the days following, there are certain acupuncture points that are really effective in treating those issues,” says Dr. Galle.

Acupuncture, she says, can specifically help with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and even constipation. Pressure points on the abdomen are best for this, as are pressure points on the outside and inside of the wrists and right outside the knee or below the knee.

“This can help with any sort of loose stools or constipation that go along with chemo,” says Dr. Galle.

Additionally, Dr. Galle says that acupuncture can be really helpful with alleviating fatigue during and after ovarian cancer treatment. Acupuncture pressure points that help with the fatigue are located at the top of the head as well as on the arms and legs. On the flip side, it can also help with insomnia; many patients undergoing treatment, she says, may have trouble falling asleep.

“So acupuncture does a really good job of balancing the body and the mind so they’re able to actually sleep throughout the night,” she says.

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Dr. Mari Galle is a licensed acupuncturist with Cancer Rehab & Integrative Medicine in Austin, Texas. Read More