underwent either five weeks of standardized Western medical acupuncture or no acupuncture.
The acupuncture was performed by family doctors in nine different practices who had been trained in acupuncture and had been performing it for an average of 14 years. Each weekly session lasted 15 minutes.
Compared to women who didn’t get the needling procedure, those who did had significant reductions in hot flashes and VMS, the study found. Acupuncture recipients also said they had less severe and less frequent day and night sweats, general sweating, sleep problems, emotional and physical symptoms, and skin and hair problems.
All in all, 80 percent of the women who underwent acupuncture said they felt the treatment had helped reduce their menopause symptoms.
Lund’s team stressed that the short length of the study means that a placebo effect can’t be ruled out in the acupuncture treatment group.
And “we believe this acupuncture intervention is most relevant to women who experience