Acupuncture for Hot Flashes

AcupunctureAn incredible amount of literature exists to support the effectiveness of acupuncture for menopausal symptoms including hot flashes, night sweats, anxiety, and insomnia. One recent study of 209 peri-menopausal women found that acupuncture for 6 months reduced uncomfortable symptoms by more than a third. These benefits persisted for more than 6 months after discontinuing treatment. Another paper analyzed 104 studies totalling 869 women, and found that acupuncture effectively decreased severity and frequency of menopausal symptoms for at least 3 months.

Acupuncture is part of a complete, 2500 year old Asian medical system that diagnoses and treats imbalances in the body. This includes hormone imbalances. By addressing the pattern of symptoms experienced, it naturally addresses how these imbalances affect different parts of the body, including the brain, metabolism, mood, and sleep. The goal is to help the body restore balance by using very fine needles at body locations associated with defined patterns of imbalance.

Because hormone imbalances affect many body systems, the most effective relief is experienced when the whole symptom pattern is addressed by someone trained in Traditional Chinese Medicine. However, there are a couple of key points that you can try yourself, by applying gentle pressure for 10 to 15 seconds in a process called acupressure:

Heart 6 is located on the inside of the wrist, just above the wrist crease, on the pinky finger side. https://theory.yinyanghouse.com/acupuncturepoints/ht6

Spleen 6 is located on the inside of the leg, one hand-span up from the ankle bone, just behind the bone.  https://theory.yinyanghouse.com/acupuncturepoints/sp6

At KIHC, our Registered Acupuncturist, Jianmin (Jamie) Xu, has been addressing concerns such as these for more than 30 years. Please contact our office for an appointment with Jamie if you’d like to give acupuncture a try.

 

Acupuncture in Menopause (AIM) study: a pragmatic, randomized controlled trial. Menopause. 2016;23(6):626-37. doi: 10.1097/GME.0000000000000597.

Effects of acupuncture on menopause-related symptoms and quality of life in women in natural menopause: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Menopause. 2015;22(2):234-44. doi: 10.1097/GME.0000000000000260.

Acupuncture to Reduce Sleep Disturbances in Perimenopausal and Postmenopausal Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Obstet Gynecol. 2016;127:507-515.

acupuncture, menopause, women

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