How does TCM understand the cause of uterine fibroids?

Uterine fibroids are the most common benign tumor of the female reproductive organ and can be classified into the categories of "stone masses", "syndrome masses" and "metrorrhagia" in traditional Chinese medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the onset of the disease is caused by the disharmony of internal organs, imbalance of qi and blood, and the accumulation of phlegm, depression and blood stasis in the uterus over a long period of time.

1. Qi stagnation and blood stasis

If a woman's emotions are frustrated, the liver fails to release its energy, the qi flow is not smooth or she gets hurt by anger, the liver qi becomes stagnant, the blood flow is blocked, and the uterus becomes stagnant. If the stasis lasts for a long time, she may become ill.

2. Cold and dampness stagnation

Women are weak during or after childbirth, and cold and dampness invade the uterus; or they go out in the rain and wade through water during menstruation, or eat too much raw, cold and stimulating food, which leads to cold blood stagnation and blood stasis in the uterus over time, causing the disease.

3. Phlegm-dampness and blood stasis

Improper diet, addiction to fatty and sweet foods, or liver depression affecting the spleen, the spleen failing to function properly, internal generation of phlegm and dampness, blocking the Chong and Ren meridians, and the stagnation of phlegm and blood over a long period of time will lead to the onset of illness.

4. Kidney deficiency and blood stasis

Frequent childbirth and excessive sexual intercourse in women will damage the kidney qi. Kidney deficiency will lead to insufficiency of the Chong and Ren meridians, dysfunction of the blood sea, and old blood stagnation in the uterus, which will accumulate over time and cause symptoms.

5. Qi deficiency and blood stasis

Women with weak constitutions, or those who have suffered from a serious or prolonged illness that has depleted their Qi and blood, or those who have been overworked and have damaged their Qi, will suffer from Qi deficiency, which will lead to weak blood circulation and blood stagnation, which will eventually stagnate in the uterus over time and cause illness.

6. Damp-heat and blood stasis

After menstruation or childbirth, the uterine vessels are empty, and damp-heat invades the uterus and confuses with the blood; or spleen deficiency generates dampness, which flows into the lower part of the body, and the dampness accumulates and turns into heat. The damp-heat obstructs the Qi mechanism, causing blood stasis, and damp-heat and blood stasis confuse in the uterus. The stasis lasts for a long time and causes the disease.