Many patients come see us for a variety of reasons.  Most come in because a friend has told them that acupuncture can be helpful.  However, most people don't know how acupuncture works and what it can treat.  Acupuncture can help almost any condition. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended acupuncture as effective for many conditions and even suggests that acupuncture can be helpful for many more. Dysmenorrhea is a fancy name for painful periods. Period are no walk in the park. I am a woman and know this from first-hand experience. Your uterus has built up a lining to support a pregnancy that is not going to happen, so now your uterus is contracting, and all that tissue has to come out. Contractions can cause some pain BUT that pain should not interfere with your QUALITY OF LIFE. What does this mean? If you have to cancel plans with your friends, you don’t go out to dinner, you call out from work, you call in sick to school, you’re lying on your bed, you're unable to move – this is NOT normal and calls for concern. Your period should not interfere with your social or day-to-day life. There are 3 main factors [...]