Could acupuncture cure YOUR hot flushes? Needle therapy ‘can halve the frequency of menopausal side effects’

• Half of women who had acupuncture reported a 50 per cent cut in flushes
• While one in ten said they had an 85 per cent decrease in the frequency
• However, four per cent of women claimed they had more of side effects 
• Expert says menopausal women should try acupuncture for it’s low-cost benefits

The Daily Mail’s Health section reports this week on how acupuncture could help you if you’re suffering from hot flushes.

“They’re the bane of many women’s lives during menopause and often keep sufferers awake at night.

But now scientists have discovered a way to reduce the frequency of hot flushes and allow women to get a much better sleep.

Acupuncture treatment – where fine needles are inserted into certain points in the body – could help to cut the side effects from the menopause.

Results from Study

Almost half of women who experienced eight weeks of the treatment reported a 50 per cent decrease in hot flushes, a study found.

While one in ten women reported an 85 per cent reduction in the frequency of their flushes – which can last for up to an hour.

Lead researcher Nancy Avis, from Wake Forest University, North Carolina, said: ‘Women bothered by hot flushes and night sweats may want to give acupuncture a try as a relatively low-cost, low-risk treatment.

How long will it take to work?

‘Women will know pretty quickly if acupuncture will work for them.

‘Women who had a reduction in their hot flushes saw a benefit beginning after about three to four weeks of weekly treatments.’

Summary of Results

Researchers examined different responses of acupuncture treatment in 209 women aged between 45 and 60.

The participants were either peri-menopausal or post-menopausal and had at least four hot flushes or night sweats each day.

Women were randomly selected to receive up to 20 acupuncture treatments within six months or to a control group.

Of the 170 women who received acupuncture, one in ten women had an 85 percent reduction in hot flushes by the eighth week of the study.

While nearly half reported a 47 per cent reduction over the same time frame.

However, a third showed only a minimal reduction of nearly 10 per cent in frequency of hot flushes.

And 4 per cent reported an increase in the frequency of their flushes.

The study was published in the journal Menopause.

This comes after a study earlier this week found hot flushes can also trigger depression.

Daytime flushes had no effect on mood but women who believed their sleep was being interrupted by night sweats were more likely to suffer mild symptoms of depression, Harvard University researchers found.”

This is good news for both acupuncture and menopausal women- who can find some reassurance in the fact that there is a way of dealing with these symptoms and ultimately improve quality of life.