Acupuncture Therapy Helps Reduce Hot Flashes and Mood Swings in Menopausal Women

The common symptoms of menopause can be relieved by acupuncture, claim a Turkish study. This study was carried out at the Ankara Training and Research Hospital in Ankara, Turkey. The severity of hot flashes and mood swings can be relieved with regular use of this ancient Chinese needle therapy.

Researchers studied about 53 menopausal women. 27 of them received acupuncture twice a week for about 10 weeks. This procedure involves placing needles at specific points on the body. This helps to boost the energy and release endorphins (body's natural painkillers). While the rest women were given 'dummy' acupuncture with the help of blunt needles.

When compared to women who were given dummy acupuncture, it was found that those who received genuine treatment experienced lesser intensity of hot flashes and mood swings. Symptoms progressively improved over the treatment period. Researchers claimed that this effect of endorphins helps curb hot flushes by stabilizing the body's temperature controls. However they were unable to tell how long the effect of this treatment would last.

Though the trial was conducted on a smaller scale, researchers claim that this complementary therapy could probably be useful in menopausal women who are unable or not willing to use Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT).

A similar study was conducted in Norway. According to that study, after having received acupuncture sessions for 12-weeks, women reported reduction in frequency and intensity of hot flashes.

Source: Medindia

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