MENOPAUSE
Menopause is the period in a woman's life when menstruation ceases. Periods stop because the low levels of estrogen and progesterone do not stimulate the lining of the womb (endometrium) in the normal cycle. Hormone levels can fluctuate for several years before eventually becoming so low that the endometrium stays thin and does not bleed.
Natural menopause takes place when the ovaries become unable to produce the hormones oestrogen and progesterone. Menopause can also occur when the ovaries are damaged by specific treatment such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy, or when the ovaries are removed, often at the time of a hysterectomy. Menopausal symptoms, which affect about 70% of women, are believed to be due to the changing hormone levels, particularly oestrogen, but many factors such as diet and exercise, lifestyle and other medication can influence the symptoms.
▪️Around 1 in 100 women experience the Menopause before 40 years of age
▪️On average, most symptoms last around 4 years from your last period.
▪️However, around 1 in every 10 women experience them for up to 12 years! 😱
Have you thought of trying acupuncture for menopausal symptoms or hormone balancing? A 2015 review of 12 studies confirmed that “acupuncture improves hot flash frequency and severity, menopause-related symptoms, and quality of life (in the vasomotor domain) in women experiencing natural menopause.”
Acupuncture for The Menopause
Acupuncture can reduce symptoms of the menopause. A 2019 study revealed that a 6 week course of acupuncture “produced a fast and clinically relevant reduction in moderate-to-severe menopausal symptoms”. The Danish study had 70 participants in total. They used 8 standard acupuncture points on 36 participants and the control group of 34 participants received no treatment.
After just 3 weeks, participants in the acupuncture group already noticed a “decrease in hot flushes, emotional symptoms, skin and hair symptoms”
After 6 weeks, results showed the acupuncture group reported “significantly decreased hot flushes, day-and-night sweats, general sweating, menopausal-specific sleeping problems, emotional symptoms, physical symptoms and skin and hair symptoms” in comparison to the control group.
This suggests that acupuncture can be a fast, non invasive and clinically proven treatment to reduce symptoms of menopause.
Another Randomized Controlled Trial studying acupuncture to relieve Menopausal Hot Flashes (Zhou et al, 2011) showed “After 12 weeks the severity and frequency of hot flushes reduced significantly.”
Contact us to see how acupuncture could help alleviate your Menopause symptoms: 07923 697 091
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REFERENCES
Efficacy of a standardised acupuncture approach for women with bothersome menopausal symptoms: a pragmatic randomised study in primary care (the ACOM study)
Lund et al, 2019
Acupuncture and Auricular Acupressure in Relieving Menopausal Hot Flashes of Bilaterally Ovariectomized Chinese Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Zhou et al, 2011
Review: Effects of acupuncture on menopause-related symptoms and quality of life in women in natural menopause: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Taipei, Taiwan, 2015