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Menopause Acupuncture Chinese Medicine

Chinese Medicine’s Perspective on Menopause

menopause

Understanding Menopause Symptoms

Menopause brings a range of symptoms for some women, such as hot flushes, night sweats, irritability, insomnia, fatigue, and weight gain. However, many women go through this phase without experiencing any discomfort. Conventional medicine often links these symptoms to low estrogen levels, and prescribes hormone replacement therapy (HRT) as a solution. However, this may not be the ideal approach. Since it’s common for women to have low estrogen during menopause without symptoms, supplementing estrogen may not be the “normal” or “natural” treatment for those who do have symptoms.

The Real Cause

If low estrogen isn’t the direct cause of menopausal symptoms, what is?

The answer lies in the body’s ability to adapt to hormonal changes. When the body struggles to adjust smoothly to these changes, symptoms arise. Therefore, the goal should be to help the body adapt better to these changes, hence, reducing or eliminating symptoms.

Chinese Medicine’s Perspective on Menopause

A Natural Transition

Menopause is a significant transition in a woman’s life, marked by shifts in body chemistry. TCM views this shift as a natural transition. Menopausal symptoms are seen as signs of deeper imbalances within the body.

Imbalance of Yin and Yang

An imbalance between Yin and Yang energies affects menopause.

  • Yin represents the body’s cooling system. Decreased Yin lead to hot flashes, night sweats, restlessness, mood swings, and insomnia.
  • Yang represents the body’s warming functions, and its imbalance can cause water retention, cold extremities, weight gain, and indigestion.

Jing Qi Deficiency

Jing - the essence

In TCM, Jing Qi represents the essential reproductive energy. It is a vital energy present since birth that supports all bodily functions. As we age, Jing Qi naturally depletes. This leads to imbalances in our Organ Systems and causing symptoms like greying hair, decreased libido, urinary issues, memory problems, backache, and fatigue.

Factors Draining Jing Qi

  • Overworking
  • Overexertion
  • Stress
  • Poor diet
  • Inherited weaknesses
  • Excessive activities (e.g., sexual activity, alcohol, drugs, late nights)

TCM Practitioner’s Role

Your TCM acupuncture practitioner’s role is to correct these underlying imbalances, alleviate symptoms and support a smoother transition.

The consultation start with a comprehensive health evaluation, including symptoms and medical history and TCM examinations, to form a Pattern Diagnosis. Here are some common menopausal patterns in TCM:

Common Menopausal Patterns in TCM

  • Kidney Yin Deficiency: Hot flashes, dizziness, tinnitus, insomnia with vivid dreams, weakness in the lower back and knees, dry mouth and tongue with little coating.
  • Kidney Yang Deficiency: Soreness and weakness in the lower back and knees, cold extremities, clear and thin vaginal discharge, decreased libido, frequent urination, incontinence, lower abdominal distension, leg edema. Common in individuals with a cold constitution.
  • Liver Qi Stagnation: Irritability, agitation, easy anger, dizziness, tinnitus, lower back pain, heat in the soles of the feet, excessive sweating, red or dark tongue.
  • Qi and Blood Deficiency: Fatigue, dizziness, headaches, memory decline, sallow complexion, poor appetite, excessive vaginal discharge, pale tongue, thin and slippery coating.

Chinese Medicine Acupuncture Treatment

Based on the Pattern Diagnosis, the practitioner creates a personalised treatment plan, addressing specific concerns with acupuncture, herbal remedies, lifestyle changes, and dietary recommendations. The aim is to restore balance and support the healing energies of Jing, Yin, and Yang.

7 Common Chinese Herbs for Menopause

  • Dong Quai (Angelica sinensis): Alleviates hot flashes, night sweats, menstrual irregularities.
  • Ginseng (Panax ginseng): Supports energy, reduces fatigue.
  • Black Cohosh (Actaea racemosa): Eases hot flashes, night sweats, supports emotional well-being.
  • Poria (Poria cocos): Promotes diuresis, addresses water retention and bloating.
  • Rehmannia (Rehmannia glutinosa): Supports hormonal balance, alleviates hot flashes, night sweats.
  • Er Xian Tang (Two Immortals Decoction): Addresses hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, vaginal dryness.
  • Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan (Anemarrhena, Phellodendron, and Rehmannia Formula): Treats Yin deficiency symptoms.

7 Commonly Used Acupuncture Points For Menopause

  • Sanyinjiao (SP6): Regulates menstruation, alleviates hot flashes.
  • Guanyuan (CV4): Tonifies Qi, nourishes Kidney Yin.
  • Zhongji (CV3): Regulates menstruation, relieves hot flashes.
  • Hegu (LI4): Alleviates hot flashes, headaches, emotional imbalances.
  • Qihai (CV6): Tonifies Qi, nourishes Kidney Yin.
  • Taixi (KD3): Supports hormonal balance.
  • Baihui (GV20): Calms the mind, alleviates insomnia, supports emotional well-being.

Almond Wellness Centre

Located in Victoria’s Coburg and Ringwood areas, Almond Wellness Centre focuses on comprehensive acupuncture Chinese medicine in Melbourne. We consider lifestyle, diet, environment, emotions, and attitude to provide personalised care. Whether you’re seeking treatment for a specific issue or looking to improve overall well-being, our senior practitioner Dr. Richard Zeng and other qualified practitioners are here to help. If you’re experiencing menopausal issues and want to explore Chinese medicine and acupuncture, please contact us for information and assistance.

Latest Research

Management of Menopause Symptoms with Acupuncture: An Umbrella Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

An umbrella systematic review (SR) was conducted, supplemented by a search of published randomised controlled trials (RCTs), that assessed the effectiveness of acupuncture for VMSs, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and adverse effects of treatment in peri-menopausal or postmenopausal women. Meta-analyses were conducted using a random-effects model when data were sufficient. Authors’ conclusions: Evidence from RCTs supports the use of acupuncture as an adjunctive or stand-alone treatment for reducing VMSs and improving HRQOL outcomes, with the caveat that observed clinical benefit associated with acupuncture may be due, in part, or in whole to nonspecific effects. The safety of acupuncture in the treatment of VMSs has not been rigorously examined, but there is no clear signal for a significant potential for harm.

Effect of acupuncture on hot flush and menopause symptoms in breast cancer- A systematic review and meta-analysis This research showed that acupuncture significantly ameliorated general menopause symptoms including negative mood, sleep problems, pain, headache and dizziness. While meta analysis suggested that acupuncture did not reduce the severity of hot flushes compared with hormone therapy, the side effects of drug therapy are significant and its safety profile is poor by comparison. The authors suggest that the mechanism by which acupuncture alleviates menopause symptoms might include regulation of cytokines and the autonomic nervous system. Breast cancer patients concerned about the adverse effects of hormone therapy may consider acupuncture.