Investigation of the role of herbal medicine, acupressure, and acupuncture in the menopausal symptoms: An evidence-based systematic review study

Abstract

Background: Menopause is an important physiological phenomenon in women's lives. Women's concern about taking the hormone treatment to ease menopausal symptoms is increasing. Over the past decade, the use of complementary and alternative medicine for the treatment of menopausal problems instead of hormone therapy has increased. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the role of herbal medicine, acupressure, and acupuncture in the menopausal symptoms. Methods: Data source: related articles were searched from internal scientific databases and external databases of “Web of Scopus, Cochrane, PubMed, Science Direct, Ovid, and Google scholar.” Study Eligibility Criteria: The keywords such as menopause, menopausal symptoms, complementary menopausal medicine, acupuncture in menopause, herbal medicine in menopause, and acupuncture in menopause were searched in the studies from 1987 to 2019. Exclusion criteria were inadequate information in the study, lack of access to full-text articles, animal studies, and reports. At the end of the search, 145 articles out of a total of 400 articles were reviewed. Results: In various studies, different herbs such as licorice, valerian, soy, sage, ginseng, etc., were used to improve menopausal symptoms. In addition, acupuncture and acupressure were used to reduce menopausal symptoms. Conclusion: The efficacy and use of complementary and alternative medicine, along with other classical medicine care, can be a new model for improving menopausal symptoms in women. It is recommended that further clinical and review studies be conducted to develop complementary and alternative medicine.

Women's knowledge and awareness on menopause symptoms and its treatment options remains inadequate: a report from the United Arab Emirates

“…2). The women's attitudes toward menopause are strongly influenced by social, cultural, and economic settings in which they live and may also reflect the differences in treatment modes for or perceptions of its symptoms 16,21 . Approximately two-thirds of participants had an academic level of college or higher, and 46% (274) were employed.…”

“…they live and may also reflect the differences in treatment modes for or perceptions of its symptoms. 16,21 Approximately two-thirds of participants had an academic level of college or higher, and 46% (274) were employed. We found that education level was the only significant predictor of knowledge about menopause.…”

Acupuncture: A Promising Approach for Comorbid Depression and Insomnia in Perimenopause

“…Accumulating evidence suggests that acupunctureinduced temperature control and reduction in hot flushes among climacteric women is achieved by elevating betaendorphin level and suppressing GnRH secretion. 191 These benefits of acupuncture were validated again in PMD rats and were accompanied by a significant reduction in depressionlike behavior. 124,127,128 Interestingly, serotonin regulates thermoregulation and peripheral vasculature.…”

Pomegranate effects on the health aspects of women during peri‐ and postmenopause: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Approximately 51% of women use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and more than 60% perceive it to be effective for MSs (Johnson et al, 2019). Moreover, requesting a “natural” approach has become a considerable trend worldwide, so nutraceuticals, with medicinal properties, extracted from food or plants are increasingly used for this purpose (Ebrahimi et al, 2020; Mehrnoush et al, 2021).…”