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This online lecture brings together recent research information regarding common pain syndromes in women’s health. Deeply rooted in the clinical experience of each of the presenters, this workshop draws together the experience of four researcher-practitioners in women’s health, elucidating current evidence-informed approaches to pain conditions experienced by women.
Pain is a complex and subjective experience that is often invisible, and has significant impacts for the sufferer. Research estimates that sufferers of chronic pain are more likely to be women, with women constituting around 70% of people impacted by chronic pain. Women tend to experience pain more consistently and more intensely, implicating underlying biological and hormonal contributions. Women experience some specific and life-stage related pain, including menstrual cycle related pain such as endometriosis, affecting fertility; pregnancy conditions; labour and childbirth; and menopause pain syndromes.
Each of these areas is marked by a set of biological and psychosocial factors, for which acupuncture can play an important role in the treatment and management of symptoms and more complex syndromes. Clinical trials highlight areas of effectiveness in treating pain in the context of women’s health. This workshop proposes to discuss the evidence for pain related conditions in women’s health and highlight how some novel findings can be used to inform clinical practice. It should be of interest to researchers and clinicians as well as health care administrators.
Goals and Outlines
Participants can expect to gain understanding of the following learning objectives during the symposium consisting of 4 presentations of pain conditions in women’s health:
a. Describe the role of inflammation in endometriosis and the link between endometriosis, depression and gut issues.
b. Discuss the implications of endometriosis and fertility
c. Deepen understanding of acupuncture treatment approaches for women presenting in clinical practice.
a. Describe the current evidence for acupuncture treatment for hip and back pain in pregnancy, and the use/avoidance of ‘forbidden points’
b. Understand the influence of bias in current trials of acupuncture for hip and back pain, where forbidden points are used
a. Describe the role of acupressure compared with acupuncture for effective management of labour and birth
b. Understand the impact of trial design on clinical outcomes and implications for evidence into practice
a. Understand women’s experiences of chronic pain as a part of a broader picture of peri- and post-menopause
b. Understand the role of acupuncture in alleviating these symptom clusters
Claudia Citkovitz, PhD, MS, LAc., has trained some 270 acupuncture students and practitioners in the care of inpatients at NYU Langone Hospital - Brooklyn. Her study of acupuncture during birth (2009) was the first in the US, as was her 2015 PhD study on acupuncture for stroke rehabilitation (2015). Her book, ‘Acupressure and Acupuncture during Birth’ was published in 2019. Claudia is an active practitioner, educator and peer reviewer, serving on the board of the Society for Acupuncture Research (SAR) and the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine (ACAHM) and as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine (JICM).
Debra graduated from the London College of Acupuncture in 1989. With a practice based in women’s health she commenced acupuncture courses for midwives in 1997. This led to publications on the use of acupuncture and acupressure in obstetric practice including the text book “The Essential Guide to Acupuncture in Pregnancy & Childbirth” in 2006, which has been translated into German and French.
Debra completed her PhD on the use of acupuncture in threatened miscarriage in 2014 through the University of Western Sydney and is currently the Director of Postgraduate Programmes for an online Masters course through New Zealand School Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine.
She is also a clinical supervisor at a hospital antenatal acupuncture clinic in New Zealand, and lectures internationally on the use of acupuncture in obstetric care. She currently resides with her husband and three children in Wellington, New Zealand.
Dr. Lisa Taylor-Swanson is an Assistant Professor in the College of Nursing at The University of Utah. She is a native of Salt Lake City and completed an Honors BS in Psychology with a minor in Women’s Studies. Her research focuses on improving midlife women’s health, gender disparities of the opioid epidemic, and the evaluation of traditional East Asian medicine interventions (including acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, and moxibustion). She previously completed a Master’s degree in Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine (Seattle Institute of East Asian Medicine) and a PhD in Nursing Science (University of Washington).
