Acupuncture has been used in the treatment of many conditions such as back pain, headaches, weight loss, and migraines, for example. Now there’s another condition that this age-old alternative therapy could be useful in treating — hot flashes.
As I’m sure our female readers are aware, menopause is the transition from being a woman of childbearing age to the next stage in life. The hormonal changes that trigger this event can start when a woman is in her 30s and continue into her 60s, although every individual experiences it differently (the average age for onset is about 45 to 55).
How do you know if you have reached full menopause? If you haven’t had a menstrual period for an entire year. Symptoms of this hormonal “condition” include vaginal dryness, irregular periods, sleep difficulties, concentration problems, and hot flashes.
Hot flashes, also known as a “hot flushes,” are a result of the fluctuation of estrogen levels in the body. You’ll know what it is when you experience it — you’ll suddenly feel hot, usually in the area of your upper body. You’ll most likely get all sweaty and you’ll probably look like you’ve been running up and down the stairs for the past half hour — meaning you’ll look flushed.
This feeling can last for various periods of time and it’s not predictable. A hot flash is a very uncomfortable sensation and it can cause sleep disturbances for many women.
A recent study looked at the role of acupuncture — the ancient Chinese art of placing small needles in the skin at specific points, known as “acupoints,” to help with medical problems — as a potential treatment for women suffering from hot flashes. Twenty-nine women with regular episodes of hot flashes were given one of two treatments for seven weeks, being acupuncture or “sham” acupuncture.
The researchers found that both groups had less nighttime hot flashes. However, the female patients who received acupuncture experienced greater relief from the intensity of the hot flashes than those who were in the placebo group did. For both sets of women, this meant better sleep.
Even though this research shows that acupuncture has great promise for menopausal women suffering from hot flashes, more testing needs to be done before it can be specifically recommended. Moreover, it’s still not understood exactly how acupuncture could reduce the frequency and severity of hot flashes — but there’s speculation that it could affect nerve signals or hormones.
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