Overactive bladder affects roughly 17 percent of the U.S, occurring in both men and women. This condition is caused from the muscles around the bladder contracting erratically, creating pressure and causing the need to urinate.
A new study in Obstetrics & Gynecology found that acupuncture improved the frequent and overwhelming urge to urinate in women suffering from overactive bladder.

The study followed 85 women with overactive bladder and urge incontinence. The women were randomly put into two separate groups to monitor the effectiveness of treatment. Half of the women used in this study received acupuncture targeting bladder control, the other half received acupuncture treatment for relaxation. The women who received acupuncture for bladder control where treated specifically on the lower back and abdomen. The group treated for relaxation was given acupuncture on points throughout the body.

While the women who received the bladder specific acupuncture reported fewer trips to the bathroom and less urgency to urinate after four weeks of treatment, both groups, reported improvement in urge incontinence and urinary leakage.

Acupuncture has been cited by the World Health Organization to treat over 43 conditions effectively including a variety of gastrointestinal disorders such as colitis, constipation, diarrhea, and gastritis. Through continual research more conditions such as overactive bladder are finding beneficial results through the use of acupuncture.