Acupuncture and the treatment of Menopause
Menopause is a naturally occurring physiological process which signifies a hormonal change in women as the body chemistry changes which was commonly treated with hormone replacement therapy generally occurring in the late 40”s to the early 60’s.
Up until recently the common medical treatment for this was hormone replacement therapy.
Within the last few years studies have surfaced showing that HRT could increase the risk of cancer and heart disease. This has caused many women to look at alternative therapies for the relief of the symptoms of hot flashes. Study shows that acupuncture can help significantly reduce the symptoms associated with menopausal syndrome/
Researchers at Stanford University found that seven weeks of acupuncture treatment reduced the severity of nighttime hot flashes by 28% among menopausal women compared to women who had no acupuncture.
This study included 29 menopausal women experiencing at least seven moderate to severe hot flashes per day. The study was published in the Sept. 2006 issue of Fertility and Sterility.
Main Symptoms:
The most annoying menopausal symptoms are: night time hot flashes and sweats which
disturb the sleep and leave women feeling tired and drained during the day, anxiety, sleeplessness, brain
fog, mood swings.
How acupuncture works to relieve the symptoms of menopause:
Acupuncture works by looking at the body in terms of balance
of energies. The two prevalent energies are yin and yang. Yin energy is thought
to be cooling energy and yang energy is thought to cause heat symptoms in the
body yin and yang are also represented by night and day, male and female, the
moon and sun to give a few examples.
As a women ages and moves towards menopause the yin energy fed by the reserve energy of the body (Jing) slows and declines which leads to heat symptoms. The Jing declines with age and is a natural part of the aging process. The decline in the cooling system in turn leads to some of the following symptoms: hot flashes, night sweats, nervousness, anxiety, heart palpitations, sleeplessness and changes in emotional states. This whole process can be accentuated by poor life style habits such as, stress, overwork, poor diet and nutrition (excessive alcohol and drug, lack of exercise etc. Through acupuncture we are looking to support and balance these energies of Yin and Yang thus reducing symptoms.
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