Menopause & Acupuncture: Easing the Transition

Menopause is medically defined as the absence of a period for 1 year. Up until that point, the changes are considered peri-menopause: a slowing down of the reproductive faculties of the body. The struggles mentioned above can begin during peri-menopause, as early as a women’s 40’s and can last into her late 50s. During this time, the ovaries start making less estrogen and progesterone (the hormones that regulate menstruation). These hormonal changes are the reason for the hot flashes that tend to be the main complaint of women approaching menopause. The hot flashes in turn can disrupt sleep, leading to further imbalances and mood swings. The hormones also affect the metabolism, which can lead to weight gain and body changes. Vaginal dryness is also related to the declining hormones.

In simplistic terms, these hormonal changes can be seen in TCM as a decline in yin, leading to a yin-yang imbalance. Yin refers to the cooling, calming, moisturizing influences of the body, and when deficient can lead to heat, dryness and nervousness or irritability. Acupuncture (and TCM lifestyle guidance) can help to re-calibrate the yin-yang balance to ease this transition.

A year-long NCCIH-funded study [1] involved 209 peri-menopausal & menopausal women age 45–60 who had at least four hot flashes per day. Researchers found that acupuncture significantly reduced symptoms of hot flashes, anxiety, sleep issues and memory loss by as much as 36.7 %. The improvements persisted at least 6 months after treatment.

Another study[2] compared menopausal symptoms of 70 women, after half of them had 6 weeks of regular acupuncture. In the acupuncture group there were clinically significant improvements in occurrence of hot flashes, night sweats, and other physical and emotional symptoms.

And even for women who are abruptly pushed into menopause, such as after a hysterectomy or ovariectomy, whose symptoms tend to be more severe, acupuncture (along with ear-acupuncture!) has been shown to reduce their (generally more intense) hot flashes as well. [3]

The shift into menopause can be much smoother with a little assistance from your local acupuncturist, but don’t wait until symptoms are severe. Call today to bring more balance into your personal journey!

[1] https://www.nccih.nih.gov/research/research-results/acupuncture-as-practiced-in-clinical-settings-may-significantly-improve-menopauserelated-symptoms

[2] https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/1/e023637

[3]https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2011/713274/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=HDW_MRKT_GBL_SUB_ADWO_PAI_DYNA_JOUR_X_PJ&gclid=Cj0KCQiAubmPBhCyARIsAJWNpiOuD8SWgbqsbye0Ba6Tik-vhbkkWrY9kHgvAnmpnd8Kc4QMo7RGt5MaAhFXEALw_wcB