6 Benefits of Acupuncture for Perimenopause
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Did you know that for women after 35 years old is considered the start of perimenopause? For many women, these years leading up to menopause can bring an array of uncomfortable symptoms and hormonal shifts, this also can coincide with challenges to getting pregnant Known as perimenopause, this transitional period typically begins in a woman's 40s as her ovaries gradually produce less estrogen though some symptoms can appear earlier. The fluctuating estrogen and progesterone levels can trigger everything from irregular periods and hot flashes to sleep troubles and mood changes.
While these perimenopausal experiences are common, they are not a sign of health. It is not natural or normal for women to suffer for years with the symptoms attributed to perimenopause and menopause. It takes a tremendous toll on physical and emotional well-being.
The important news is there are many methods to address the underlying health imbalances that are the root cause of perimenopause symptoms, such as herbal medicine and acupuncture. Acupuncture is a fantastic safe and drug-free method to support your health and address perimenopausal symptoms. Where there is a health imbalance the always a need to address inflammation, metabolic, and hormonal imbalances. Women’s health follows a reproductive cycle and life stages that continue to shift.
Acupuncture helps regulate hormonal imbalances that cause common perimenopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, and sleep disturbances. Acupuncture may also help with anxiety, depression, and joint pain by promoting the release of endorphins and regulating neurotransmitters.
What is perimenopause?
Perimenopause refers to the years or months before a woman's last menstrual period, marking the transition in the reproductive cycle toward menopause. It typically is noticeable in the mid-to-late 40s but can begin as early as the 30s. During perimenopause, your hormones and metabolism can begin to shift, with estrogen and progesterone levels becoming erratic before they become low enough to stop the menses.
This transitional hormonal change triggers perimenopausal symptoms like:
Hot flashes and night sweats
Irregular or skipped periods
Sleep disruptions and insomnia
Digestive disorders such as acid reflux
Mood swings, irritability, anxiety
Brain fog and memory lapses
Vaginal dryness
Fatigue
Weight gain
These symptoms can continue into menopause. For some women, perimenopausal effects can significantly impact their quality of life and emotional well-being. That's where acupuncture may offer relief, and where our dedicated team can help!
Acupuncture helps manage hot flashes & night sweats
Hot flashes and night sweats are among the most disruptive and troublesome symptoms of perimenopause and menopause. Triggered by hormonal fluctuations and shifts in the body's temperature, these sudden sensations of intense heat and flushing can happen day or night, disrupting sleep and daily activities. The resulting sudden sensations of intense heat, flushing, sweating, and chills can strike at any time, interrupting sleep, work, and daily activities.
Up to 80% of women experience hot flashes and night sweats during the menopausal transition, with symptoms often beginning in the years leading up to menopause (perimenopause). While hormone therapy can provide relief, many women prefer non-hormonal treatment options. This is where acupuncture shows remarkable promise in managing these stubborn symptoms.
Studies have shown that regular acupuncture treatments can significantly reduce the frequency and severity of hot flashes and night sweats in perimenopausal and menopausal women. This is down to acupuncture’s ability to modulate neurotransmitters like serotonin, norepinephrine, and β-endorphin levels. When we insert acupuncture needles into your body, we target these neurochemical pathways involved in thermoregulation, "resetting" the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in your body that becomes elevated during a hot flash episode.
Acupuncture can reduce mood changes
The drop in estrogen levels around perimenopause doesn't just affect the body - it can take an emotional toll too. Lower estrogen has been linked to increased irritability, mood swings, anxiety, and even depression in some women as well as fatty liver. Studies suggest acupuncture can help stabilize mood by regulating neurotransmitters like serotonin and endorphins while decreasing inflammation that may contribute to emotional disturbances.
Acupuncture can aid sleep troubles
The combination of hot flashes, night sweats, and hormonal shifts can majorly disrupt your sleep quality during perimenopause. Yet getting quality sleep is crucial for overall health and longevity. Insomnia increases the chances of more serious conditions such as diabetes and heart disease as well as mood changes, foggy thinking, weight gain, and metabolic syndrome.
Multiple studies show acupuncture treatments may enhance sleep by increasing melatonin production, reducing night wakings, and ensuring you get a good night’s sleep.
Acupuncture can help ‘brain fog’
That feeling of mental cloudiness "brain fog" or poor memory is a common symptom, likely triggered by hormonal shifts impacting cognition, sleep, and memory. According to various studies, acupuncture can help improve cognitive function and alleviate brain fog during perimenopause by regulating hormone levels and enhancing blood flow to the brain. The insertion of fine needles at specific points on the body is believed to stimulate the body's natural healing processes and restore balance to the hormonal system.
Acupuncture regulates hormones & enhances blood flow
Proper blood circulation is essential for your overall health and well-being - blood transports vital nutrients, oxygen, and hormones to every cell and tissue in your body. During perimenopause, compromised blood flow can impede the transport and regulation of reproductive hormones like estrogen and progesterone. Acupuncture is thought to positively influence the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian (HPO) axis that controls reproductive hormone production. This can help normalize levels of estrogen, progesterone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and other key hormones disrupted during perimenopause.
Studies show that acupuncture can significantly improve blood flow and circulation in several ways. Firstly, when we insert the thin acupuncture needles at specific points on your body, it prompts a biochemical response that increases blood flow in the treated areas. This improved circulation helps nourish and oxygenate the cells and tissues, while also facilitating the efficient removal of metabolic waste products and carbon dioxide.
Acupuncture also stimulates the release of nitric oxide and other vasodilators that relax and widen blood vessels. This dilation reduces vascular resistance and enhances overall blood flow throughout the body, including to vital organs like your ovaries. With increased ovarian blood flow, the transportation and uptake of hormones are optimized, which may help support hormone regulation during your perimenopausal transition.
At Integrative Healing Arts, we use acupuncture to directly target specific areas of your body experiencing poor blood flow. For example, improving circulation to your abdomen, back, and legs to enhance pelvic floor dysfunction and blood flow to reproductive organs. This localized increase in circulation can help address issues like vaginal dryness, irregular periods, and other gynecological issues during perimenopause.
Acupuncture can reduce inflammation
Menopause literally means the stopping of the menses and is considered a transition in a woman’s reproductive cycle. Levels of estrogen and other hormones involved in regulating inflammation can be erratic. These hormonal fluctuations can contribute to systemic l, inflammation throughout your body causing joint pain as well as weakened connective tissue and aging skin. While inflammation is a natural immune response (fever), chronic inflammation is not a healthy response and can cause a spiral of perimenopausal symptoms.
Research shows acupuncture helps release natural anti-inflammatory compounds like proteins and opioids to counteract excess inflammation. After inserting the acupuncture needles into specific points in your body, they trigger the release of proteins and opioids that have potent anti-inflammatory effects. These natural compounds help counteract inflammation by reducing proinflammatory molecules like cytokines and prostaglandins.
Contact us today
While perimenopause is a reproductive cycle stage, you don't have to nor should you suffer. If you’re struggling with the challenges of perimenopause, acupuncture may offer a safe, effective, and natural way to address the underlying causes of your symptoms.
At Integrative Healing Arts we can help provide relief from symptoms related to perimenopause like hot flashes, insomnia, mood changes, and brain fog through our acupuncture sessions. Our skilled practitioners are here to develop a personalized treatment plan and guide you towards optimal health and a balanced harmonious transition through menopause.
If you're struggling with irregular periods and mood swings, these can be the disruptive effects of perimenopause, consider adding acupuncture to your wellness strategy and book your first appointment today.
