Normal vs Common: The Menstrual Cycle
For the most part, the clients I see tend to be female and/or have/had a menstrual cycle. Added to the fact that I am now a father of 4 girls, in the next coming years knowing the in and outs of this particular aspect of women’s health is very important for me to know.
As with most things in civilization, there could be a big difference between what is normal( i.e. the natural state of being of the particular functions of the body) and what is common( the state that a particular person or group of people find themselves).
Signs and symptoms of the cycle can vary from person to person and in some cases have become memes to what the time of the month may present to each individual.
From a TCM perspective, this monthly occurrence should be just that. It should be something that happens a natural function of the body doing what it is supposed to do. Symptoms should not extreme in regard to pain, emotions, or other physiological effects.
A TCM perspective of a “moon cycle” usually consists of
Menarche starting at around 12.8 years old
Menopause at around age 50 years old
Cycle length 26-32 days, without variance month to month
Duration of cycle 4-7 days
Normal functioning from a western perspective can also add the following
Blood loss 30-80 ml for the days of bleeding
Color is dark red, lighter in the beginning, deep in the middle, and pinkish toward the end
No coagulation(i.e. No clots)
Other symptoms like cramping, emotional changes etc. should be minimal if there are any at all.
If anything starts to veer from this “normal” it could be a big hint at some type of imbalance that can be helpful in tracking progress with treatment.
As I have been told by many clients this information is generally not discussed. Whether it is the culture or otherwise these topics really aren’t spoken about so many grow up uninformed of the natural cycles of their body.
Luckily those things have started to shift as folks tend to see other types of alternative medicine practitioners and as sources of information have also become more prevalent.
My wife has found some cool books on the subject which we have started to use with our eldest. One cool example she found is @adahnuchi Bunk 9’s Guide to Growing Up with illustrations from local pdx artist @meghuntillo.
Finding an acupuncturist/herbalist to work with can be a helpful tool to starting working on internal medicine systems that can aid problems that may start to veer from “normal” function.
Contact us today for more information on all of RHS services including Structural Integration, Functional Range Systems treatment and rehabilitation, Acumoxa and Chinese Herbal Medicine prescriptions.
Reference:
Maciocia, G. (2011). Obstetrics and gynecology in Chinese medicine. Elsevier.
#acumoxa #commonisnotnormal #TCM