Treating the Liver for all patients from menarche (first occurrence of menstruation) to menopause (one year of not bleeding) is one of my top priorities in the clinic. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) the Liver system plays an important role in menstruation. The Liver is said to store the blood so when the Liver stagnates we can have disruptions in our cycle.
Liver Qi Stagnation is very common and often the first thing that happens in a culture that is stressed, overworked, sedentary, and has a poor or processed diet. Liver Qi plays a vital part in moving Qi throughout the body. When Liver Qi Stagnates, you will see signs like fatigue (usually that improves with movement) sluggish digestion, rib pain, weepiness, depression, and sometimes outburst of anger. Around the menstrual cycle Liver Qi stagnation can cause breast distention and tenderness, dull achy cramps the first few days of your period, lower abdominal bloating, and possibly pain that travels down the interior of the legs. It can also cause irregular cycles and the lack of movement in the digestive tract can lead to hormonal imbalances, especially in women in perimenopause.
Some ways that we can improve the free flow of Liver Qi and take care of our liver function are:
Move daily, even if it’s just a short walk. Better yet, find a friend so you can walk and talk, self expression is a great way to move the Liver.
Set your timer at the office so that you get up and move a little every hour.
5-20 Minutes Daily of Relaxation Practice: yoga (legs up the wall pose), meditation, journaling (try freewriting, anything that comes into your mind), taking a bath, breathwork (long inhale, hold at the top, followed by long exhale, no need to count just breathe).
Try going four days each week alcohol-free.
Avoid too much caffeine (Try swapping one cup of coffee with MUD/WTR or tea)
Acupuncture and herbal medicine can help with all the symptoms that are listed above. Each treatment is custom to your body and the patterns that are showing up for you. Typically weekly treatments are suggested at first to balance the body and then we can taper down from there to maintenance 1/month treatments.
