Menopause often times can be a celebration as women feel relieved to no longer have to worry about their period, however, the symptoms that arise from menopause can be both hard to handle and disruptive towards your daily life. Patients often seek some form of treatment to help relieve the symptoms while working on preparing the body for future conditions that might arise as a result of aging.
Options in Western medicine geared towards patients experiencing menopause can include hormonal replacement, administration of estrogen, or other medications to reduce symptoms. In China, some hospitals don’t contain hormone replacement therapy since acupuncture has been show to provide incredibly effective results in treating hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, insomnia, fatigue, etc.
In a 2009 randomized controlled trial conducted by Borud et al. researchers split patients who were experiencing, on average, seven or more hot flashes per 24 hours during consecutive days into two groups: the first group received acupuncture and advice on self care and the second group received only advice on self care. At the end of the study the researchers found that the hot flashes decreased significantly in the first group compared to the second group. Acupuncture was statistically found to significantly improve symptoms in menopausal patients concluding that acupuncture in addition to self-care can contribute to a reduction of hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms.
If you have any further questions about acupuncture treatment for menopausal symptoms, please feel free to give any one of our locations a call to schedule an initial consultation. We look forward to hearing from you!
“As an ER doctor my schedule was incredibly demanding. As I began menopause I knew hormonal replacement was available, but I didn’t want to take it due to the side effects. But I felt like I had to do something since the menopausal symptoms were incredibly difficult on my body. I would wake up multiple times at night drenched in sweat and it would cause me to underperform during the day. I came in for acupuncture and with three treatments a week for four weeks my symptoms were under control. Whenever I have women around me even mention anything about menopause I refer them directly to TCM Health Center for acupuncture.”