2022 Medicine
High prevalence of insomnia, anxiety, and depression among perimenopausal women, emphasizing the importance of exploring acupuncture as a potential green therapy for effectively addressing these interconnected issues.
Acupuncture for Menopausal Syndrome & Hot Flushes
The majority of women will enter menopause in their early 50s and may experience menopause symptoms for 4-5 years on average.
The most prominent symptom of menopause is hot flushes, which affect around 75% of menopausal women. Other menopausal syndrome symptoms include night sweats, emotional vulnerability, sleep disturbances, fatigue, cognitive changes, joint pain, vaginal dryness and loss of sexual desire.
Experiencing strong menopause symptoms can greatly affect a woman's quality of life, relationships, work productivity and her use of health services.
What is our clinical experience?
Based on feedback collected from over 562 initial appointments for Menopause Symptoms, 85% of our surveyed patients reported improved quality of life after their first 5 appointments. See our detailed benchmarking statistics.
InitialConsults
562
AverageAppointments
5
ImprovedQuality of Life
85%
Refer Family &Friends
94%
What does the research say?
The following insights are obtained from systematic reviews and analysis of clinical trials investigating the efficacy of Chinese medicine and acupuncture for menopausal syndrome & hot flushes.
2021 European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology
Phytoestrogens, used in various forms, have shown improvement in urogenital menopause symptoms and improved women's sexual function, promoting overall quality of life.
2021 Acupuncture in Medicine
Acupuncture's potential in reducing menopausal hot flush frequency compared to sham acupuncture, and its similarity in impacting hormone levels to hormone therapy.
2019 Biomedicines
Guizhi Fuling Wan, a traditional herbal formula, can improve peripheral blood flow in menopausal hot flush sufferers, despite not changing the frequency or severity of the flushes.
2017 Complementary Medicine Research
Both the total score and the subgroup analysis strongly indicated that acupuncture can alleviate menopause-related symptoms.
2017 PLOS One
Acupuncture is non-inferior to hormone therapy or other applied relaxation therapies in alleviating the symptoms of menopause for its safety, non-invasive and especially considering the side effect of hormone therapy.
2016 Journal of Cancer Research and Therapeutics
Acupuncture appears to be a potentially effective treatment for reducing hot flashes in women diagnosed with breast cancer.
2016 Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem
The study's analysis of 272 articles comparing Traditional Chinese Acupuncture (TCA) and Sham Acupuncture (SA) for managing hot flashes in menopausal breast cancer patients indicates that while 3 studies leaned towards TCA's effectiveness, 2 showed both interventions to be beneficial.
2015 Menopause
Acupuncture improves hot flash frequency and severity, menopause-related symptoms, and quality of life (in the vasomotor domain) in women experiencing natural menopause.
2013 Neuropediatrics
Hop extract, particularly its component 8-Prenylnaringenin (8-PN), demonstrates potential in alleviating symptoms common in menopause such as osteoporosis, vasomotoric disturbances, and sexual motivation.
2011 Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies
Gui-zhi-fu-ling-wan, a traditional Chinese medicine, can effectively alleviate hot flashes in young patients in a safe manner.
2005 The American Journal of Chinese Medicine
Gui-zhi-fu-ling-wan, a herbal therapy, depicts to be a viable alternative to hormone replacement therapy for treating hot flashes in post-menopausal women experiencing coldness in lower extremities.
Seek personalised healthcare and advice
Although well-conducted clinical research can help members of the public to make better-informed decisions about their healthcare, we cannot claim that any particular treatment may be effective for any individual person.
When you consult with our Chinese medicine practitioners, you’ll receive personalised advice and treatment based on your symptoms and Chinese medicine diagnosis.
Research papers
Browse our collection of scientific clinical research on acupuncture for menopausal syndrome & hot flushes.
It includes recent and reputable papers published by peer-reviewed journals within the last 10 years.
2022, Jan 14
Can acupuncture improve sleep quality and anxiety among women during perimenopause?
Medicine
This study will provide new evidence on the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for the treatment of insomnia, anxiety, and depression in perimenopausal women, and provide additional options for clinicians and patients to improve insomnia and anxiety.
Ping Y, Liang C, Fan X, Zhang L, Ying D, Wang Z Full Article
2021, Jun
Impact of phytoestrogens on treatment of urogenital menopause symptoms: A systematic review of randomized clinical trials
European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology
Phytoestrogens in various forms have been shown to improve menopausal urogenital symptoms, including urogenital atrophy, urinary disorders, and sexual function.
Abdi F, Rahnemaei FA, Roozbeh N, Pakzad R Full Article
2021, Dec 13
Effect of acupuncture on menopausal hot flushes and serum hormone levels: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Acupuncture in Medicine British Medical Acupuncture Society
Acupuncture may not decrease hot flush frequency, but yet appears to have similar effects on serum hormone levels as HT, that is, increased E2 and decreased FSH and LH. Considering that no firm conclusions could be drawn due to the low quality and limited number of included trials included, further high-quality RCTs need to be conducted.
Liu C, Wang Z, Guo T, Zhuang L, Gao X Full Article
2019, Aug 18
A Classic Herbal Formula Guizhi Fuling Wan for Menopausal Hot Flushes: From Experimental Findings to Clinical Applications
Biomedicines
169 compounds were identified from GFW pills, tablets, and capsules. Therapeutic effects, including frequency and severity of MHFs, peripheral blood flow, hormones, neurotransmitter, and cytokines, were not consistent across different study types. ESR2 with genetic variation, CGRP receptor, and IL-8 were identified to be related to the mechanisms of actions of GFW on MHFs. The differences in therapeutic effects could be potentially due to dose variations among clinical and experimental studies and ESR2 gene differences in rats and homo species.
Li , Hung , Li , Yang Full Article
2017, Oct 12
Acupuncture May Improve Quality of Life in Menopausal Women: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Complementary Medicine Research
Both the total score and the subgroup analysis strongly indicated that acupuncture can alleviate menopause-related symptoms. However, the evidence is not very strong. Thus, further studies about the efficiency of acupuncture on menopausal symptoms based on well-designed trials are needed.
Li W, Luo Y, Fu W, Lei R. Full Article
2017, Aug 22
Effect of acupuncture on hot flush and menopause symptoms in breast cancer- A systematic review and meta-analysis
PLOS One Public Library of Science
Acupuncture significantly alleviated menopause symptoms, but had no effect on hot flush. Breast cancer patients concerned about the adverse effects of hormone therapy should consider acupuncture. Further large-scale studies that also measure biomarkers or cytokines may help to elucidate the mechanism by which acupuncture alleviates menopause symptoms in patients with breast cancer.
Chien TJ, Hsu CH, Liu CY, Fang CJ. Full Article
2016, Jul 25
Acupuncture for hot flashes in women with breast cancer: A systematic review
Journal of Cancer Research and Therapeutics Association of Radiation Oncologists of India
Acupuncture seems to be an effective therapy for HFs in women with BC; however, there was insufficient evidence to support the efficacy of acupuncture. However, the results should be interpreted cautiously, because of the poor quality and small number of included studies.
Chen YP, Liu T, Peng YY, Wang YP, Chen H, Fan YF, Zhang L Full Article
2016, Aug 15
Effectiveness of Traditional Chinese Acupuncture versus Sham Acupuncture: a Systematic Review
Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem University of Sao Paulo at Ribeirao Preto College of Nursing
The evidence gathered was not sufficient to affirm the effectiveness of traditional acupuncture compared with sham acupuncture.
Carlos, LuÃs et al. Full Article
2015, Feb
Effects of acupuncture on menopause-related symptoms and quality of life in women in natural menopause: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Menopause The North American Menopause Society
This meta-analysis confirms that acupuncture improves hot flash frequency and severity, menopause-related symptoms, and quality of life (in the vasomotor domain) in women experiencing natural menopause.
Chiu HY, Pan CH, Shyu YK, Han BC, Tsai PS. Full Article
2013, Mar 19
Hop Extracts and Hop Substances in Treatment of Menopausal Complaints
Neuropediatrics
Hop extract and 8-PN are promising candidates for relieving climacteric symptoms, but more data on safety and efficacy is needed.
Keiler A, Zierau O, Kretzschmar G Full Article
2011, Jun
Effect of Gui-zhi-fu-ling-wan on Hot Flashes in Young Patients: A Retrospective Case Series
Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies Medical Association of Pharmacopuncture Institute
Gui Zhi Fu Ling Wan herbal decoction shows promising results in improving hot flashes in young patients with a relatively low percentage of reported adverse events, suggesting a potential alternative to hormone replacement therapy.
Cho KH, Kim YS, Jung WS, Kim TH Full Article
2005, Jan
Comparing the Effects of Estrogen and an Herbal Medicine on Peripheral Blood Flow in Post-menopausal Women with Hot Flashes: Hormone Replacement Therapy and Gui-Zhi-Fu-Ling-Wan, a Kampo Medicine
The American Journal of Chinese Medicine
Post-menopausal women with hot flashes had significantly higher blood flow under the jaw compared to those without hot flashes, with herbal therapy increasing blood flow in the lower extremities whereas HRT decreased it, suggesting that herbal therapy may be more effective in treating certain menopausal symptoms.
Ushiroyama T, Ikeda A, Sakuma K, Ueki M Full Article
It is by virtue of the twelve channels that human life exists, that disease arises, that human beings can be treated and illness cured. The twelve channels are where beginners start and masters end.