A Cross-Sectional Study of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner’s Knowledge, Treatment Strategies and Integration of Practice of Chronic Pelvic Pain in Women

Abstract

Background Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) in women is persistent, intermittent cyclical and non-cyclical lower abdominal pain, lasting for more than 6 months. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a popular treatment option for women’s health conditions, but little is known about how treatment for CPP is delivered by TCM practitioners. The aim of this survey was to explore practitioners understanding and treatment of women with CPP, and how they integrate their management and care into the health care system. Method An online cross-sectional survey of registered TCM practitioners in Australia and New Zealand. Survey domains included treatment characteristics (e.g. frequency), evaluation of treatment efficacy, referral networks, and sources of information that informed clinical decision making. Results One hundred and twenty-two registered TCM practitioners responded to this survey, 91.7% reported regular treatment of women with CPP. Treatment decisions were most-often guided by a combination of biomedical and TCM diagnosis (77.6%), and once per week was the most common treatment frequency (66.7%) for acupuncture. Meditation (63.7%) and dietary changes (57.8%) were other commonly used approaches to management. The effectiveness of treatment was assessed using multiple approaches, most commonly pain scales, (such as the numeric rating scale) and any change in use of analgesic medications. Limitations to TCM treatment were reported by over three quarters (83.7%) of practitioners, most commonly due to cost (56.5%) and inconvenience (40.2%) rather than safety or lack of efficacy. Integration within the wider healthcare system was common with over two thirds (67.9%) receiving referrals from health care providers. Conclusion TCM practitioners seeing women with various CPP symptoms, commonly incorporate both traditional and modern diagnostic methods to inform their treatment plan, monitor treatment progress using commonly accepted approaches and measures and often as a part of multidisciplinary healthcare for women with CPP.

The Changing Clinical Landscape in Acupuncture for Women’s Health: A Cross-Sectional Online Survey in New Zealand and Australia

“…extrapolating our ndings, however our key ndings of lack of engagement with research are in line with previous work, both quantitively [51] and qualitatively [18]. Secondly, we did not request detailed information regarding the referral interactions with other practitioners.…”

“…There are several important limitations to acknowledge. Firstly, like other practitioner surveys of acupuncturists in Australasia, our overall response rate was low [6,51]. This is likely due to several factors, primarily that those who were not interested in women's health were unlikely to ll in the survey, and secondly, due to the low priority that practitioners put on research they may not feel inclined to engage with researchers [18].…”

The changing clinical landscape in acupuncture for women’s health: a cross-sectional online survey in New Zealand and Australia

“…This is likely due to several factors, primarily that those who were not interested in women's health were unlikely to fill in the survey, and secondly, due to the low priority that practitioners put on research they may not feel inclined to engage with researchers [18]. Therefore, caution must be taken in extrapolating our findings, however our key findings of lack of engagement with research are in line with previous work, both quantitively [55] and qualitatively [18]. Secondly, we did not request detailed information regarding the referral interactions with other practitioners.…”

“…There are several important limitations to acknowledge. Firstly, like other practitioner surveys of acupuncturists in Australasia, our overall response rate was low [6,55]. This is likely due to several factors, primarily that those who were not interested in women's health were unlikely to fill in the survey, and secondly, due to the low priority that practitioners put on research they may not feel inclined to engage with researchers [18].…”

Effects of Modified Wenjing Decoction Combined with Online Publicity and Education on the Treatment of Primary Dysmenorrhea of Cold Coagulation and Blood Stasis

“…As a result, the patients suffer from pain caused by the obstruction of the uterus and meridians. Besides, the pain may also result from the stagnation of qi and blood stasis, or qi-blood deficiency and the lack of nourishment of the uterus and meridians [9,10]. For the treatment of secondary dysmenorrhea, TCM has longer course of treatment and is difficult to have quick effects, but TCM therapy with syndrome differentiation over a long period can effectively relieve pain.…”