Complementary Therapies
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) offers women another option to consider for use in menopause.
- CAM is a diverse group of medical and health care systems, practices and products not part of conventional medicine.
- Integrative medicine combines conventional and CAM treatments for which there is evidence of safety and effectiveness.
- Examples of CAM include acupuncture, chiropractic, massage, herbal medicine, dietary supplements, aromatherapy, yoga, reiki, therapeutic touch, mindfulness based stress reduction, biofeedback, hypnotherapy, guided imagery, visualization and homeopathy.
- The most common symptoms in the menopause transition are hot flashes and insomnia. Mild symptoms can be helped by acupuncture, herbal medicine, dietary supplements and mind body therapies.
- CAM therapies are supportive although hormone therapy is most helpful for moderate to severe symptoms during the menopause transition. CAM can be a helpful adjunctive therapy
- CAM (if carefully chosen and properly used) can improve quality of life.
- It is important to let your healthcare practitioner know about any CAM therapies you use or are considering using as not all have evidence of safety and effectiveness.
- Many CAM modalities are not covered by insurance and therefore have an out of pocket expense.
- Visit the website from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine for more information
- It's important to consider the benefits and risks of complementary therapies and alternative treatments in the context of the other forms of treatments that are available.