Vulvodynia 

Most women have or will experience some pain during sexual intercourse, with 10%-15%  of women the pain is constant and is called Vulvodynia – chronic pain in the external genitals of a woman.

Vulvodynia is characterized by chronic pain that appears in the vulvar region, usually only in the vaginal opening (vestibule), and then it is called localized Vulvodynia (also known as Vulvar Vestibulitis and Vestibuldynia) while in severe cases the pain can also extend to the anus and other areas along the pelvic (generalized Vulvodynia). The pain occurs mainly during sexual intercourse. Sometimes the sensitivity is so high that the pain does not allow the use of tampon and in more extreme cases the pain occurs even without any contact to the affected area

The pain is often described as a burning sensation as if rubbing an open wound or stubbing of the area.

One in eight women suffer from Vulvodynia and yet, hardly a week goes without hearing phrases like "the gynecologist thinks I'm crazy", "I went to see so many doctors and none of them knows what I have", "I feel flawed", and many other phrases describing terrible distress, as if the pain itself was not enough.

According to western medicine the cause for Vulvodynia is unknown. The conventional treatments that exist are physiotherapy, bio feedback, anti-inflammatory ointments, anesthetics and sexology therapy. These treatments however, are not always effective.

Vulvodynia is considered primary, when the pain is felt with the first sexual experience. It is secondary, when a woman who experienced sexual intercourse without pain, and at some point in her life begins to feel the pain, usually following a vaginal inflammation caused by fungus, virus, parasite or bacteria that was not treated properly or at all.

Any woman can develop Vulvodynia at some point in her life.

Almost always the pain causes guilt and a decrease in self-esteem, due to a feeling of being damaged. It may affect a woman's ability to be intimate with her partner or even from having children. This can disrupt existing relations or causes concerns for starting a new one.

The syndrome disrupts the life of the woman suffering from it on every level – physical, mental and personal.

During our first conversation, Dr Liora Abramov, head of sex therapy clinic in Lis maternity hospital, Tel Aviv, Israel, commented to me that she was concerned with finding a way to help women suffering from Vulvodynia. From then I began to explore the subject in depth, which in the Chinese medicine literature is not emphasized. I have since treated dozens of women. Most cases showed significant improvement and many cases were completely cured.

The Chinese therapy I use includes acupuncture in points that are far from the genitals (hands, feet, abdomen and head), and in most cases supplemented with oral herbal formula and some nutritional changes.

There is no difficulty in combining the Chinese treatment with the conventional one.

Vulvodynia in the Chinese medicine view

Vulvodynia according to Chinese medicine theory is mainly a problem of the free flow of Qi, blood and\or fluids of the Liver organ. But there is no need to find a donor for liver transplant ;-) unlike conventional medicine that divides the body into separate parts, Chinese medicine treats the body as a whole system and the emphasis is on function rather than a physical part. An organ in the body has a function that affects the physical and mental aspects. There are 12 internal organs that are considered the core of the Chinese medicine theory, and relationship between these organs is what affect all functions in the body.

Our body can be compared to a branched piping system where blood, various fluids and Qi flows through its channels. Qi is responsible for every movement – it is the basis of everything and without it there would be no life, it cannot be seen but is very tangible (it is felt when needle is inserted in acupuncture point). The Qi flows through the body from any direction and in any direction, and on it's way varies and changes. Mental and physical factors like stress, illness, nutrition, accident etc. may disrupt the circulation in the body. in accordance with the tendency of each person the disruption would influence on the body, in this case the tendency is the genitals.

Part of the route of the liver's channel goes through the genitals, and a problem of the liver's function may cause many disorders along it's route, one of them is vulvar pain.

The cause of the pain

Pain is always associated with disrupted free flow, as in the Chinese saying "when there is pain there is no free flow, if there is no free flow there is pain"

What can be done?

By asking questions, tongue observation and pulse measuring it is possible to find the cause for the stagnation in the free flow: if the problem is qi and blood stagnation than they should be moved, if the stagnation is of fluids (vaginal discharges for example) than they should be drained or dried. If there is too much heat – it should be cooled, too much cold should be warmed and if the cause is deficiency of qi and blood, they should be restored.

Once the cause for that stagnation begins to fade, the pain decreases and one can begin to breathe J