Acupuncture Lowers Severity, Frequency of Hot Flashes in Women Experiencing Natural Menopause

Acupuncture is not just an effective therapy to treat several physical and mental conditions, but also helps in lowering the severity and frequency of hot flashes among women experiencing natural menopause.

Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese practice that is used to treat a wide range of health conditions. It is known to improve circulation, lower inflammation and also offers positive physical, mental and emotional health benefits that include nausea and vomiting, stroke rehabilitation, headaches, menstrual cramps, asthma, carpal tunnel and many more.

In a new finding, researchers at the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) found that acupuncture can also affect the severity and frequency of hot flashes among women experiencing natural menopause, according to ScienceDaily.

The researchers evaluated the previous studies to look at the effectiveness of acupuncture and they uncovered 104 relevant students. In these 12 studies, 869 participants had met the specified inclusion criteria that are needed for the current study. These studies provided inconsistent finding on the effect of acupuncture on symptoms related to menopause and concluded that acupuncture had positive impact on frequency as well as severity of hot flashes.

The study included women experiencing natural menopause, aged between 40-60 years. The researchers evaluated the effects of various forms of acupuncture that included traditional Chinese medicine acupuncture (TCMA), acupressure, electro-acupuncture, laser acupuncture and ear acupuncture.

The researchers were surprised to see that there was no association between the effect of frequency or severity of hot flashes and the number of treatment doses, number of sessions of duration of treatment.

They, however, claim that sham acupuncture could induce a treatment affect similar to that of a true acupuncture. These effects last for as long as three months.

It was seen that acupuncture led to the reduction in the concentration of β-endorphin in the hypothalamus, resulting from low concentrations of estrogen. These lower levels could trigger the release of CGRP, which affects thermoregulation.

"More than anything, this review indicates that there is still much to be learned relative to the causes and treatments of menopausal hot flashes," said NAMS executive director Margery Gass, MD. "The review suggests that acupuncture may be an effective alternative for reducing hot flashes, especially for those women seeking non- pharmacologic therapies."

The finding was documented in the journal Menopause.