Menopause is natural. But it doesn’t always feel natural when your body suddenly seems like someone else’s.

Hot flashes and night sweats are the most common complaints of women in their perimenopausal and menopausal years. These can make you feel uncomfortable, rob your sleep, and even interfere with your day. And then there are the other little changes that sneak up on you, like mood swings, brain fog, dryness, and joint pain.

While this transition is a normal phase every woman eventually goes through, these symptoms are not. With the help of acupuncture, you can reduce – or prevent – these menopause imbalances and step into a new phase feeling your best. 

Finding Balance Through Menopause

At 120 Acupuncture Clinic, we’ve helped countless women navigate the transition into menopause with a holistic approach. Dr. Ko explains why this approach is so important during this phase of life: 

“Menopause means the end of menstruation, but more importantly, it signifies that the body’s natural balance begins to break down. When menopause begins, women experience significant hormonal changes and fluctuations. 

“As hormones change, the mental and emotional state is affected first, leading to many physical and psychological changes. Therefore, treatment must be adjusted to match these changes. 

“When the hormonal balance is restored, it becomes possible to improve or even completely relieve various menopausal symptoms. However, if one does not understand how to treat the root cause, each symptom has to be treated separately — and since there are so many symptoms, this approach often fails to bring full recovery. That’s why it’s important to view the body as a whole and treat it as a whole.”

Holistic Approach vs. Hormone Replacement Therapy 

Typically, conventional treatments mean taking hormones such as estrogen or progesterone. “But these medications can come with serious side effects and may even increase the risk of cancer,” explains Dr. Ko. “More importantly, while such medications may offer short-term improvement, they can weaken the body over time when used long-term.”

While hormone replacement therapy (HRT), supplements, and lifestyle shifts are the usual recommendations for relief, many women are looking for a more holistic approach – something that works with the body instead of overriding it. That’s where acupuncture comes in.

At our clinic, we’ve helped many women feel more balanced, more energized, and more like themselves again with acupuncture. Let’s walk through five key ways acupuncture supports your body during menopause.

 

Acupuncture for Menopause Symptoms: 5 Ways to Get Relief

At our clinic, we have extensive experience in treating hormone-related conditions, and have successfully helped many patients suffering from menopausal discomfort with acupuncture and herbal medicine. Here are just five of the ways acupuncture could help you:

1. Acupuncture Cools Hot Flashes and Night Sweats

Hot flashes and night sweats are among the most talked-about (and least welcome) symptoms of menopause. They can come out of nowhere and leave you drenched, flushed, and exhausted.

Acupuncture helps by regulating your body’s internal thermostat – the hypothalamus. This part of your brain controls temperature regulation and helps you maintain healthy homeostasis. During menopause, however, fluctuating estrogen levels can throw this system off and trigger hot flashes.

In Oriental Medicine, this is seen as a “Yin deficiency.” In simple terms, your body is running “too hot.” Acupuncture supports Yin and helps reduce internal heat, leading to fewer and less intense hot flashes. It also helps stabilize the hypothalamus by calming the nervous system and rebalancing your body’s cooling mechanisms.

2. Acupuncture Boosts Mood and Reduces Irritability

Mood swings. Anxiety. That short fuse you don’t remember having ten years ago. These shifts in your emotional state are often tied to shifts in your hormone balance – especially during menopause. 

From an Oriental Medicine perspective, menopause often brings “Liver Qi stagnation,” which is associated with moodiness, frustration, and emotional buildup. Acupuncture helps “move” this stagnation so you feel lighter, more emotionally even, and better equipped to handle everyday stress.

On a more scientific level, acupuncture stimulates the release of feel-good neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins that naturally boost your mood. With more of these circulating in your system, you are better able to manage your stress response, balance emotional highs and lows, and feel more at ease.

 

3. Improves Sleep Quality

Sleep disruption is one of the most common issues in menopause. Whether you’re struggling with falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up way too early, the root cause could be in your hormone levels, not just daily stress or habits.

Poor sleep isn’t just annoying. It can lead to more issues with your mood, energy, metabolism, and even immune health. Thankfully you can get the sleep you need and rebalance your body with acupuncture. 

Acupuncture helps improve sleep by regulating melatonin production, the hormone that signals to your body when it’s time to rest. It also reduces cortisol, your main stress hormone, which can keep you wired and wakeful at night. These shifts in your “sleep hormones” shifts you into parasympathetic mode (“rest and digest”) so you can enjoy better, deeper, more restorative sleep.

 

4. Acupuncture Clears Brain Fog and Boosts Focus

You’ve heard of “mommy brain,” but have you heard of “menopause brain”? Menopause brain fog is real – and it’s not all in your head. Many women in this stage of life report feeling more forgetful, scattered, confused, or mentally sluggish than they ever were before.

To help you feel sharp and awake again, acupuncture improves blood circulation to the brain. This enhances oxygen delivery to the nervous system to improve overall cognitive function. Acupuncture also helps balance the endocrine system, which regulates other hormones that affect your brain’s performance.

 

5. Acupuncture Reduces Joint Pain and Fatigue

Feeling stiffer? Less flexible or mobile? Noticing more joint pain in general? It’s not just getting older. Hormonal changes can increase inflammation, which makes your body feel achier or more tired than usual.

Acupuncture can help by balancing the inflammatory response in two ways: it stimulates the release of endorphins (your body’s natural painkillers) and reduces levels of cytokines (pro-inflammatory markers). It also improves general circulation to help tight or sore areas feel more mobile and less inflamed.

 

Get Menopause Relief that Works at 120 Acupuncture Clinic

Menopause is a journey, but it doesn’t have to be a battle. A few mild symptoms are just a sign of your body changing and preparing for the next phase. If, however, you’re experiencing symptoms that significantly disrupt your day-to-day life or leave you exhausted, in pain, or feeling lost, it’s time to find relief. 

Acupuncture offers a natural, gentle, and effective way to support your body through this transition so you can live in tune with your body. Whether you’re just starting to notice changes or you’re deep in the throes of menopause symptoms, we’re here to help you find relief that fits your body and your lifestyle.

If you have not yet entered menopause, receiving hormonal balancing treatments once or twice a week can help prevent future symptoms. For those already experiencing menopausal changes, start your treatment as soon as possible to manage your symptoms and improve balance – at least two to three times a week.

Ready to use acupuncture to support your body through menopause? Book a consultation today or call us at 1-818-980-7979 to get started feeling better, brighter, and more balanced.