Sustained effects of a brief and standardised acupuncture approach on menopausal symptoms: post hoc analysis of the ACOM randomised controlled trial.

Can a Short Course of Acupuncture Provide Long-Lasting Relief From Menopause Symptoms?

If you're navigating the hot flushes, night sweats, and sleep disruptions that often come with menopause, you may have wondered whether acupuncture could help — and more importantly, how long any benefit might last. A recently published study offers some encouraging answers.

Researchers analysed data from a clinical trial involving 70 women who were experiencing moderate to severe menopausal symptoms. Participants received just five weekly acupuncture sessions, with needles placed at specific points on the lower abdomen and legs. The women were tracked for up to 26 weeks in total, meaning some were followed for as long as 21 weeks after their final treatment.

The results were notable. Improvements in hot flushes, day and night sweats, general sweating, and sleep problems were not only achieved during treatment — they held up remarkably well long after the sessions ended. The benefits remained largely intact for up to 21 weeks post-treatment, with only a slight reduction in effect over time.

Perhaps even more intriguing, researchers observed a small but meaningful improvement in hot flush scores in women who were simply waiting to begin their acupuncture — before they had received a single needle. This suggests that the anticipation of care, or early shifts in awareness and lifestyle, may play a role in symptom relief.

No serious side effects were reported throughout the study, reinforcing acupuncture's well-established safety profile.

For women seeking a drug-free option to manage menopause symptoms, these findings suggest that even a brief, standardised course of acupuncture may offer sustained relief well beyond the treatment period itself.

If you're considering acupuncture for menopause symptoms, speak with a qualified and licensed acupuncturist who has experience treating women's health conditions.

This post hoc analysis of the ACOM randomised controlled trial (n=70) evaluated the durability of a brief, standardised Western medical acupuncture protocol for moderate-to-severe menopausal symptoms. Participants received five weekly sessions at CV3, CV4, bilateral LR8, SP6, and SP9, administered by GP acupuncturists. Outcomes were assessed via the validated MenoScores Questionnaire across four domains: hot flushes (HF), day and night sweats (DNS), general sweating (GS), and menopausal-specific sleeping problems (MSSP), with follow-up extending to 26 weeks (21 weeks post-treatment for the early intervention group). Multivariable linear mixed models demonstrated sustained treatment effects across all four domains at 21 weeks post-treatment with only modest attenuation. A small but statistically significant pre-treatment effect was observed in HF scores, with non-significant trends in DNS and MSSP, suggesting anticipatory or expectation-related mechanisms. No serious adverse events were recorded. Clinically, these findings support the use of a brief acupuncture protocol as an effective and durable intervention for vasomotor and sleep-related menopausal symptoms.