A recent study by the University of Copenhagen concludes that acupuncture may help with menopause symptoms.
The study published on BMJ open medical Journal was done under a group of 70 women with moderate-to-severe menopausal symptoms and nine general practitioners with accredited education in acupuncture.
Following paragraphs are taken from the study publication:
Experience of menopausal symptoms
is very common and has been shown to affect quality of life, health status, work productivity and use of health services. The majority of women experience menopause in their early 50s and have menopausal symptoms for 4–5years on average. The most prominent symptom of menopause
- is hot flushes, which affect around 75% of menopausal women and is reported as very distressing by 10%–20%.
- Other reported menopausal symptoms are night sweats,
- emotional vulnerability,
- sleep disturbances,
- fatigue,
- cognitive changes,
- joint pain,
- vaginal dryness and
- loss of sexual desire.
Hormone therapy (HT) relieves menopausal symptoms,but long-term HT is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer and thromboembolic disorders. Hence, many menopausal women avoid HT. Non-hormonal-based treatments such as clonidine, gabapentin and antidepressants may also reduce menopausal symptoms. However, these drugs have frequent adverse effects such as sleep disturbance, dizziness, nausea, fatigue, dry mouth and constipation.
The study included 70 women who were experiencing menopause. The team gave half of the women one 15-minute session of standardised acupuncture a week for 5 weeks starting in week one of the study. The remaining individuals were part of the control group, and they received weekly acupuncture from week 6 of the study.
Beside the studies primary The acupuncture did not only reduce hot flashes. Those in the experimental group also experienced significant drops in the severity or frequency of sweating (including night sweats), sleep disturbances, emotional symptoms, and skin and hair problems.
Acupuncture for Menopause in Wellington
At our Acupuncture Clinic for menopause symptoms in Wellington, we offer sessions with our acupuncturist to discuss your individual situation and symptoms and find the best acupuncture treatment for you. We use outcomes of studies like the one from the University of Copenhagen to offer the best possible service with the best possible outcome for our patients.
Book your menopause session with our acupuncturist now.
Study: Efficacy of a standardised acupuncture approach for women with bothersome menopausal symptoms: a pragmatic randomised study in primary care (the ACOM study)
by: Kamma Sundgaard Lund, Volkert Siersma, John Brodersen, Frans Boch Waldorff