Acupuncture, CHM & Menopause
Acupuncture Auckland – CHM & Menopause: As a menopausal woman do you suffer from: hot flushes, night sweats, anxiety, irritability, mood swings, insomnia, heavy periods or vaginal dryness. Read on to find out how Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) can help you!
In Chinese medicine it is considered that in healthy females, menstruation begins on a regular monthly cycle at around the age of 14. This is because females go through cycles of 7 years. The menstrual cycle continues regularly until the age of menopause which normally occurs at the age of 49years. The menstrual cycle, which in health is 28 days in length, corresponds with the lunar cycle.
Menopause is associated with the cessation of menstruation. The commonest occurrence is the gradual increase in the interval between periods with decreasing loss at each menstrual period. Sometimes menstruation stops suddenly. Marked anxiety, mood swings, insomnia, heavy periods, intermittent bleeding, vaginal dryness, night sweats and hot flushes are abnormal although common in western society.
Imbalance Can Be Treated With Acupuncture
In Chinese medicine these symptoms are an indication of imbalance, usually Blood and Yin Deficiency with Empty Heat. The body is a balance of Yin (slow, cool, dark, night) and Yang (fast, hot, light, movement, day). So if a women becomes deficient or lacking in Yin this will create a relative rise in Yang and these yang characteristics of heating, rising, moving will dominate.
Hot flashes, which are one of the most common symptoms, are a consequence of the inability of Yin to restrain Yang, so heat flares upward uncontrollably.
According to Chinese Medical theory, menopause occurs when a woman’s body begins to preserve blood and energy in order to sustain her vitality and allow for the maximum available nourishment for her body, especially her kidneys. The kidney is the organ Chinese Medicine sees as the root of life and longevity.
Therefore, the body, in its wisdom, reserves the flow of a channel in the centre of the body which sends blood and energy down to the uterus. Instead, blood and essence from the kidneys are conserved and cycled through the body to nourish the woman’s spirit and extend her longevity. Thus, in the Chinese Medicine, menopause is seen as true change in life from mother to enlightened and wise being.
Results with Accupuncture & Oriental Medicine
Menopause is an area in which Oriental Medicine shines. Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine have the ability to detect energetic changes that occur in the body and quickly relieve symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, foggy mind and irritability.
The mental and emotional symptoms that a menopausal woman is experiencing will help create a clear picture on which your practitioner can create a specific treatment plan.
Since the early seventies, studies around the globe have suggested that acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine are effective treatments for hot flashes, anxiety, insomnia, vaginal dryness and many other symptoms associated with menopause. Recent studies show extremely positive results:
From 1997 to 1999, one of the first studies in the United States to explore the effectiveness of acupuncture in alleviating hot flashes, insomnia and nervousness was conducted by Dr. Susan Cohen, D.S.N., APRN, associate professor of the University of Pittsburgh. It, it was found that during the course of acupuncture treatments, hot flashes decreased by 35% and insomnia decreased by 50%. A follow-up study revealed hot flashes significantly decreased in those receiving acupuncture, compared to those receiving routine care.
In another study run out of the Medical School of university Sa’o Paulo in 2011 again Acupuncture treatment for relieving menopausal symptoms was found to be effective for decreasing hot flushes and the Kupperman Menopausal Index (KMI) score in postmenopausal women.
Acupuncture Auckland: Acupuncture Studio
Can we help? At Acupuncture Studio in Point Chevalier in Auckland, we would like to talk to about ways we can treat menopause symptoms or other issues that may be affecting your enjoyment of life. Contact us now to organise a consultation.
