Make Menopause Easier

A study published in BMJ Open found that Menopausal women could make menopause easier by using Acupuncture as an alternative to HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy).  Acupuncture can help make menopause easier by easing the menopausal symptoms of hot flashes, night sweating, sleep disturbances and mood swings.

The study concluded that “Acupuncture for menopausal symptoms is a realistic option for women who cannot or do not wish to use HRT.”

The research study found that 80% of the menopausal women in the group receiving acupuncture “reported a general beneficial treatment effect after 6 weeks”.  The acupuncture group of women “was significantly less bothered by Hot Flushes at 6 weeks” compared to the menopausal women who had not received acupuncture.

There were also other statistically significant differences in favour of the women who received acupuncture and those who did not: the statistically significant differences were the frequency of day and night sweats, menopausal sleep disturbances, emotional symptoms, and skin and hair problems.

Hot Flushes in particular, depending on their severity, and if they continue for years (which is common), can have a major impact on a woman’s quality of life  and well-being.  In the research study, the difference in hot flushes was already apparent after just 3 weeks of acupuncture treatment. “The pattern of decrease in hot flushes, emotional symptoms, skin and hair symptoms was already apparent 3 weeks into the study”.

The researchers of this study also found that a brief course of acupuncture may also help to ease other troublesome menopausal symptoms such as  the skin and hair problems that can occur with menopause.

HRT (Hormonal Replacement Therapy) and other prescription drugs can indeed treat various symptoms and make menopause easier as well, but they come with a long list of undesirable side effects.

Conclusions of the study were: “The standardised and brief acupuncture treatment produced a fast and clinically relevant reduction in moderate-to-severe menopausal symptoms during the six-week intervention. No severe adverse effects were reported”.

The researcher’s study included menopausal women who were either given 5 weeks of acupuncture or no acupuncture. Each weekly session of acupuncture was performed by someone trained in acupuncture and who had been practising acupuncture for an average of 14 years.