Project Description
Can Acupuncture Help with Menopause Symptoms?
Menopause typically begins in the sixth decade of life and is an ongoing process that usually lasts an average of 4-5 years. Symptoms of menopause can reduce overall well-being and affect every aspect of life. Although the symptoms of menopause are treatable, current methods are far from perfect. For example, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is effective for many women, but it can have significant side effects.
A recent study concluded that even with just a relatively short treatment course of Acupuncture it is possible to significantly reduce some of the most unpleasant symptoms of menopause.
An Alternative Approach
In recent years, there has been a popular swing towards so-called alternative or complementary therapies. Leading the vast range of available treatments, there is acupuncture.
As a consequence, people have used acupuncture to relieve a wide range of conditions, including depression, chronic pain, epilepsy and schizophrenia, with varying degrees of success, and in many cases this has allowed to avoid medical treatment.
A recent study, led by researchers from the University of Copenhagen and the University of Southern Denmark, Odense, has evaluated the effects of acupuncture on menopause symptoms. The study results were published in the BMJ Open journal.
Acupuncture and hot flushes acupuncture menopause
To understand results better, the researchers decided to focus primarily on one particular symptom of menopause: hot flushes. Hot flushes affect more than three-quarters of women who go through menopause and can be very distressing and continue for a number of years.
The study included 70 women who were experiencing menopause. The team administered half of the women a 15-minute session of standardised acupuncture treatment per week for 5 weeks, whereas the remaining individuals were part of the control group and did not receive any intervention.
The Results acupuncture menopause
On follow-up, each of the participants completed a questionnaire that assessed their menopause symptoms. The questionnaire covered the most common symptoms including hot flashes, sleep problems, memory changes, urinary and vaginal symptoms, as well as skin issues.
After just 3 weeks, participants in the acupuncture group noticed a decrease in hot flushes. As 6 weeks went by, 80% of the women in the acupuncture group felt the sessions helped them.
Acupuncture didn’t just reduce hot flushes. Those in the treatment group also reported a significant drop in the severity or frequency of sweating (including night sweating), insomnia, emotional and mental symptoms, and skin & hair problems.
The Placebo Problem
Although the results were statistically significant, the authors underlined that the study group was small and the study duration was rather short. Furthermore, the lack of a placebo group reduces the significance of results. As the authors explain, “There is currently no validated acupuncture placebo comparator”.
The placebo effect can be particularly strong in situations where an individual receives individual attention from a professional instead of simply receiving a pill.
One technique the researchers say could be useful for future studies is fake acupuncture. The difference is that the practitioner does not place the needles at the acupuncture points or pierce the skin with them.
However, providing a real placebo treatment with acupuncture can be rather tricky. As the authors explain, “a study that tests false against real acupuncture is not a placebo-controlled study, but rather a study that tests two different types of acupuncture.”
It is Worth a Try? acupuncture menopause
The lack of a suitable placebo has hindered and will continue to hinder the validation of reasearch carried out to evaluate the true efficacy of acupuncture. That said, for women who have decided not to use standard treatments, acupuncture, regardless of whether its benefits come from the placebo effect or not, could be a useful option.
Medelit’s practitioners are very experienced in the treatment of menopause and provide the service directly in your home, so that you have the chance to benefit from the treatment without having to leave the safety and comfort of home. There is little risk of serious adverse events, and when you feel your symptoms have improved after acupuncture, the goal has definetly been achieved.
Reference Source: https://www.bmj.com/company/newsroom/acupuncture-may-ease-troublesome-menopausal-symptoms/
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