\r\n \r\n New Study Finds Acupuncture Curbs Severity of Hot Flashes
\n
\nResearch Finds Traditional Chinese Needle Therapy Provides Relief for Menopause
\nSymptoms
\n
\nBy Linsay Davis and Jennifer Metz
\n
\nMany women are willing to try anything to get rid of the dreaded hot flashes and
\nmood swings associated with menopause.
\n
\nThe study, conducted by the Ankara Training and Research Hospital in Ankara,
\nTurkey, concluded that acupuncture, which treats patients by inserting and
\nmanipulating needles in the body, curbs the severity of hot flashes and other
\nmenopausal symptoms, largely related to mood.
\n
\nThe authors based their findings on the experience of 53 postmenopausal women.
\nThe participants measured their symptoms using a 5-point scale before and after
\ntreatment.
\n
\nTwenty-seven of the women received traditional Chinese acupuncture for 20
\nminutes, twice a week for 10 weeks. The rest thought they were given acupuncture
\ntreatment, but the needles didn\'t actually penetrate the skin.
\n
\nThe women who received real acupuncture showed significant drops in the severity
\nof their hot flashes -' + '- and that\'s not just true of women in this study.
\n
\nJacqui Danilow said she turned to acupuncture to ease her hot flashes that would
\ncome on with no warning.
\n
\n"Suddenly, you are very warm and you think the thermostat has gone up inside
\nyour body and you never know why it happens or what causes it," she said.
\n
\nWeekly acupuncture treatments "were like a miracle," Danilow said. She rated the
\nseverity of her hot flashes at a "10" before her treatment -' + '- after four months,
\nthey were a "3."
\n
\nDr. Arya Nielsen from the Beth Israel Medical Center Department of Integrative
\nMedicine said acupuncture, which she has been performing for 35 years, is
\neffective for women who are having menopausal symptoms -' + '- and can help provide
\nrelief.
\n
\n"I think women experience fewer hot flashes and less intensity when they have
\nhot flashes, so it returns the quality of life," she said. "This is very
\nsignificant."
\n
\nNielsen said that after a series of treatments, women experiencing menopausal
\nsymptoms generally "start to feel much more relaxed -' + '- the anxiety is also
\nassociated with hot flashes."
\n
\nBy the second or third treatment, she said, patients come in and say, "Actually
\nI\'m not hot flashing during the day anymore, maybe a couple at night, and then
\nthat starts to decline as well."
\n
\nMenopause is the latest use of the 2,000 year-old Chinese tradition -' + '- it\'s
\nalready being used to reduce symptoms related to arthritis, back, neck, knee and
\nshoulder pain, and anxiety.
\n
\nAt the Mayo Clinic, acupuncture is part of the standard of care for all patients
\nin the Joint Replacement Center. Doctors there are also involved in their own
\ntrial of the benefits of acupuncture for hot flashes.
\n
\nResearchers suggest the reason why acupuncture may work for women suffering from
\nhot flashes is that the treatment is able to boost the production of endorphins
\nand that could help stabilize body temperature.
\n
\nAuthors of this study caution that their sample size was very small, and they
\ndid not follow up with patients after treatment, so they do not know if the
\npositive effects of acupuncture continue.
\n
\n
\nAndrew Pacholyk, MS, L.Ac
\nhttps://www.proacumed.com
\nPurveyors of Healthy Qi
\nNew York, New York\r\n

\r\n __________________
\r\n "We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." ~Immanual Kant~
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