Perimenopause Acupuncture
Navigating perimenopause and menopause can be challenging, with fluctuating hormones and a range of physical and emotional changes. Acupuncture offers a holistic, natural approach to support your body through this transition. By stimulating key points along the body’s energy pathways, acupuncture may help alleviate common symptoms of perimenopause, such as hot flashes, mood swings, sleep disturbances, and irregular periods.
Acupuncture for perimenopause and menopause works via a number of physiological mechanisms. These of these may include neuromodulation influencing cortisol levels which may contribute to mood, metabolism, bone tensity and cognitive decline.
At Coastal Wellness Cottage, we take pride in crafting personalized treatment plans that are specifically designed to address your unique symptoms and restore your sense of well-being. Our approach integrates targeted therapies with a focus on education, empowering you to better understand your body and navigate this transition with confidence. We are committed to helping you achieve lasting relief and a renewed sense of balance.
For all research quoted below I would like to link the Evidence-Based Acupucnture Project who has collated this information and provided it for us here.
Acupuncture & Vasomotor Symptoms
Vasomotor symptoms (VMS), AKA hot flushes and night sweats are some of the most common concerns of perimenopausal and menopausal women, effecting arooun 70% of women within our western culture.
“A 2009 review by Alfhaily and Ewies, concluded that the majority of studies on acupuncture for VMS reported 50% reductions in hot flashes that lasted for up to six months. A 2015 meta-analysis by Chiu et al., supports these results. It reviewed 12 studies with a total 869 participants, finding that acupuncture significantly reduced hot flash frequency and severity. It also found that acupuncture improved menopause-related psychological, somatic, and urogenital symptoms, as well as overall quality of life.
The results of these reviews suggest that acupuncture has significant benefits for women suffering from menopausal VMS.”
Acupuncture, Menopause, Depression & Anxiety
Another symptom that menopausal women experience are mood disorders such as anxiety and depression, which acupuncture may help with.
“A 2013 review by Sniezek and Siddiqui, included six trials with a total of 605 female subjects aged 18–71. Of these studies, four were on depression (with three focusing on major depressive disorder), one was on anxiety, and one was on both conditions. One of the studies involved menopausal women with depression and VMS.
The authors of the study concluded that although the quality of the evidence was mixed, acupuncture was “promising” as a therapy for menopausal women with depression. They went on to say: “At this time, it is reasonable to use acupuncture as an adjunctive therapy for treating depression in postmenopausal women who have vasomotor symptoms.”
An earlier 2007 review by Pilkington et al., focused on acupuncture for anxiety. It included 12 controlled trials, 10 if which were RCTs. All of the trials reported positive outcomes.”
Acupuncture, Menopause & Sleep
Sleep is anpther common concern for women transitioning through perimenoapuse and menopause which can impact a womans quality of life.
“A 2015 review by Berezza et al., included 12 studies on acupuncture for sleep disorders in post- menopausal women. The studies involved a wide range of treatment protocols, interventions, and durations. Overall, 75% reported improvements in sleep complaints following acupuncture treatment.”
Acupuncture, Menopause & Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a common issue in post-menopausal women and one that most are scared of developing.
“A 2018 systematic review and meta-analysis by Pan et al., included 35 studies and a total of 3014 participants. It found that, compared with pharmaceutical treatment alone, warm acupuncture increased bone mineral density (BMD) of the femur and lumbar spine. It also increased serum calcium and estradiol levels, reduced serum alkaline phosphatase, and relieved pain. Electroacupuncture also had positive effects on serum calcium, serum alkaline phosphatase, and pain.
A 2020 review by Xu et al., supported these results. It included 13 systematic reviews and meta-analyses published between 2013 and 2018. They found high quality evidence that acupuncture and moxibustion can improve BMD in primary osteoporosis. They also found that these therapies could benefit visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores, although the quality of the evidence was lower.