Course of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Department of Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Tsukuba University of Technology, 4-12-7 Kasuga, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8521, Japan.
Acupunct Med. 2011 Dec;29(4):304-6. doi: 10.1136/acupmed.2011.010081. Epub 2011 Oct 20.
A 26-year-old top female athlete (height 157 cm), who took part in competitive sport similar to middle- and long-distance running, became amenorrhoeic in February 2009. In late May 2009, athletic amenorrhoea was diagnosed and a norgestrel-ethinyl estradiol combination (norgestrel 0.5 mg and ethinyl estradiol 0.05 mg three times daily) was prescribed for 2 weeks. She experienced menstrual bleeding on one occasion for 4 days in mid-June before becoming amenorrhoeic again. The athlete visited our centre to try acupuncture treatment. Forty-six acupuncture sessions were given between 1 October 2009 and 2 November 2010. Acupuncture point selection was based on classical acupuncture medicine and included points long used for gynaecological disorders in Japan--namely, CV6, CV12, LR3, LR14, BL17, BL18, BL23, SP6 and SP10. On 7 May 2010, owing to lack of regular normal vaginal bleeding, she again consulted her gynaecologist and was prescribed the same hormone preparation as used previously. She took it for 2 weeks in conjunction with acupuncture treatment. From July, the amount and duration of menstrual flow increased at regular intervals. Throughout July, a biphasic pattern in basal body temperature (BBT) was gradually established. In conclusion, the single hormone replacement therapy in May 2009 without acupuncture treatment was not effective for the amenorrhoea, nor was the single acupuncture treatment between October 2009 and May 2010. However, after hormone replacement therapy was started in May 2010 in conjunction with regular acupuncture treatment, menstrual blood flow restarted and BBT moved close to the biphasic pattern.
一位 26 岁的顶尖女运动员（身高 157 厘米），从事类似于中长跑的竞技运动，于 2009 年 2 月闭经。2009 年 5 月下旬，诊断为运动性闭经，并开了炔诺酮-炔雌醇复合制剂（炔诺酮 0.5 毫克和炔雌醇 0.05 毫克，每日 3 次）治疗 2 周。她在 6 月中旬有过一次为期 4 天的月经出血，然后再次闭经。运动员来我们中心尝试针灸治疗。2009 年 10 月 1 日至 2010 年 11 月 2 日期间，共进行了 46 次针灸治疗。针灸穴位的选择基于经典的针灸医学，包括日本长期用于妇科疾病的穴位——即 CV6、CV12、LR3、LR14、BL17、BL18、BL23、SP6 和 SP10。2010 年 5 月 7 日，由于没有定期的正常阴道出血，她再次咨询妇科医生，并开了与之前相同的激素制剂。她在接受针灸治疗的同时服用了 2 周。从 7 月开始，月经流量的数量和持续时间定期增加。整个 7 月，基础体温（BBT）逐渐建立双相模式。总之，2009 年 5 月的单一激素替代治疗，没有针灸治疗，对闭经无效；2009 年 10 月至 2010 年 5 月的单一针灸治疗也无效。然而，2010 年 5 月开始激素替代治疗，并结合定期针灸治疗后，月经血流恢复，BBT 接近双相模式。
