Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Dysmenorrhea Caused by Endometriosis: A Review of Utilization and Mechanism

Table 4

The specifications and efficacy of acupuncture methods.

Therapeutic approach	Specifications	Efficacy	Refs.
Acupuncture	Puncturing a needle into the patient’s body at a certain angle.	Relieving pain, reducing serum CA-125, improving clinical symptoms such as irregular menstruation.	[72]
Moxibustion	Burning the dried leaves of mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) to stimulate acupuncture points.	Relieving pain and improving pelvic microcirculation by thermal stimulation.	[76]
Warming acupuncture	Maintaining the position of the needle, twisting the moxa mass around the needle handle to heat it, and transferring the heat into the acupoints through the needle.	Relieving pain, warming meridians, and promoting qi and blood circulation.	[80]
Acupoint catgut embedding	Implanting absorbable catgut into acupoints.	Similar to acupuncture’s efficacy, but the stimulation of acupoints is continuous for a few days.	[85]
Electroacupuncture	Addition of electric current to strengthen the stimulating effect of acupuncture on acupoints.	Alleviating inflammatory and neuropathic pain and improving blood circulation.	[87]
Auricular points	Stimulating acupoints distributed on the auricle.	Controlling pain, regulating immunity, and so forth.	[93]