Acupuncture

Ok so the last addition to the 'sperm morphology improvement regime' relates to acupuncture.

Acupuncture is something I've always been curious about, I've had it in the past for a hip injury and it definitely 100% helped (the injury cleared up a few days after the acupuncture, coincidence? perhaps, perhaps not).

I've done some reading up on it and there does seem to be some evidence that it can also improve semen parameters.

In Chinese medicine there is a lot of talk of meridian lines & energy flows which can become blocked through things like poor lifestyle or diet. These blockages can cause health problems which can in theory lead to things like poor sperm morphology. Acupuncture combined with Chinese herbal medicine can in help to improve these energy flows, and return the body to its natural state.

In western terms, Acupuncture basically works by having loads of needles stuck into your body at key points, depending on the positioning of these needles, they basically 'sends a biomechanical signal' to the body, which causes a 'biochemical response' in the body.

There are studies here, here and a writeup here which are definitely worth reading. The general consensus appears to be that it can help improve overall sperm health.

Unfortunately a lot of the studies out there have patients receiving 2 sessions a week, acupuncture is a pricey experience, and i simply cannot afford it that frequently! However i wanted to give it a go anyway, so i booked myself in for a session.

The acupuncturist asked me a lot of questions about my health and lifestyle, took a look at my tongue and my semen analysis results, and then stuck a load of needles along my arms and legs and around my belly. She said she'd seen my kind of result before, and believed it to be primarily related to excessive heat in the body.

She theorised that a lack of 'nourishment' in my body (i.e. vitamins) probably wasn't an issue due to my high sperm count, she suspected that my lifestyle was fine, however excessive heat in the testicles was simply destroying the production process.

She suggested i go to a urologist and get checked for a Varicocele, (big vein in the testies that generate a lot or heat). Although my testies look fine to me, there could be a large problematic vein i cant see which could be causing trouble.

She also suggested i wear shorts, boxers, 'ice the balls' regularly, and don't sit down for lengthy periods of time, as this should all help cool things down and hopefully, improve the sperm morphology.