MALE INFERTILITY

Male infertility: sexual function & fertility ability

According to TCM, male infertility is mostly associated with the reproductive organs. There are two types of common symptoms of male infertility:

• Sexual dysfunction

It commonly known as “impotence”(Erectile dysfunction), which is the erection or ejaculation dysfunction during sexual activities, which directly leads to infertility.

• Abnormal sperm quality

Sperm quality is the key to fertility, which include the number of sperm, form, and activity. It can be tested through analyzing the semen and infertility examinations. Common sperm abnormalities mainly as follow:

– Insufficient sperm quantity

–  Weak sperm activity

– abnormal morphology of the sperm

Cause of infertility in men

In western medicine, male infertility can be divided into two categories: absolutely infertility and relatively infertility. Absolutely infertility means that the man has the defects of innate or acquired anatomy, leading to the woman’s inability to conceive, which western medicine can help. Relatively infertility means that there is a possibility of conception, it hinders conception or reduces fertility ability due to a such factors as impotence, premature ejaculation, weak sperm (sperm activity less than 40 %), and insufficient sperm (the number of sperm insects is less than 50 per ML), sperm condensation, sperm produce antibodies, etc.

As to men’s relative infertility, it can be treated through TCM’s syndrome differentiation in the three meridians of kidney, liver, and spleen. Along with acupuncture and ear needles, it can significantly raise men’s ability to produce more sperm and increase sperm count and mobility.

TCM syndrome differentiation of male infertility

In TCM, male infertility can be divided into four types: deficiency, excess, cold and heat, of which Kidney deficiency is the most common problem. The sperm quality is not only related to the kidney, but also to the coordination of “kidney, spleen, and liver”, three of which are indispensable.

When the vitality of the gate of life is weaken due to weak kidney qi, it can easily cause fatigue, backache, decreased libido, lack of semen, poor sperm motility, or impotence, premature ejaculation, or even infertility. It start from improving the kidney qi of men when conditioning the body.

Kidney:  The kidney has the function of storing essence, which is most related to pregnancy and childbirth.

Spleen:  The spleen and stomach can produce essence after digesting.

Liver:  The liver is the main tendon, which is the male reproductive organ. The liver is related to sexual function and fertility.

TCM treatment of male infertility – improving sperm quality

• Acupuncture for male infertility

Research have shown that acupuncture treatment has the unique effect of increasing blood flow to the testicular arteries and cooling the scrotum. It can be used to treat male infertility caused by obstruction of the vas deferens, kidney deficiency, and poor sperm motility.

Chinese physicians apply abdominal acupuncture accompanied with kidney-tonifying and Yang-enhancing acupoints on the waist, to achieve the effect of nourishing kidney essence.  They also use moxibustion and cupping therapy to deal with the liver and spleen problems, which can strengthen the cooperation between the kidney, spleen, and liver, it can treat male infertility eventually.

• Herbal medicine for male infertility

Studies combining physical fitness and sperm testing have shown that physical fitness can affect the sperm quality in men. For example, sperm with kidney yang deficiency may have lower sperm motility, and kidney yin deficiency may have deformed sperm. People with damp heat may have more viscous semen that can affects sperm penetration.

When diagnosing infertility with TCM, Chinese physician may have a better understanding of the patient’s physique and individual differences by using four unique methods of observing, smelling, inquiring and feeling. Accordingly they can make prescriptions targeted to different functions such as nourishing the kidney yang and yin, strengthening the spleen and stomach, soothing the liver, nourishing qi and blood, clearing heat and dampness, promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, etc.

Each specific prescriptions has different functions to treat male infertility, for example, wolfberry fruit, dodder seed, and privet privet fruit can be used to condition the body to nourish kidney yin and increase sperm count, while velvet antler and cinnamon can help improve sperm activity.

Success stories

A 30-year-old couple has not conceived a child after more than a year of marriage. By undergoing gynecological and hormonal examinations, no abnormalities were found at the part of wife. On the advice of the doctor, the husband went for a semen analysis. It was found that the number, shape, and mobility of his sperm were unusual. Through the analysis and test of sperm, the case could be classified as male infertility.

With syndrome differentiation, our infertility specialist diagnosed the man as “deficiency of spleen and kidney, mixed phlegm dampness”. Two months later when receiving TCM treatment of herbal medicine, abdominal acupuncture, and moxibustion, his second semen test showed that the number, shape and motility of sperm had returned to normal levels.

TCM health tips for male infertility:

• Daily health care for male infertility: If a man wants to improve his fertility. It is advisable to go to bed before 11 o’clock every night, to do moderate exercise, and to reduce smoking and drinking.
• Avoid wearing tight underwear, temporarily stay away from X-rays, saunas (hot springs, steam baths, ovens, etc.), chemical toxic substances, high-temperature workplaces, etc.
• The etiology of male infertility is relatively complex. Except for those with sexual dysfunction, the patient’s subjective symptoms are not obvious, or even asymptomatic. With TCM, it can achieve good curative effects when treating with these symptoms caused by functional infertility such as oligospermia, asthenospermia, non-liquefied sperm, impotence, etc. It takes about 3-6 months for general session of treatment.