Efficacy of exercise for menopausal symptoms

Sternfeld, Barbara; Guthrie, Katherine A.; Ensrud, Kristine E.; LaCroix, Andrea Z.; Larson, Joseph C.; Dunn, Andrea L.; Anderson, Garnet L.; Seguin, Rebecca A.; Carpenter, Janet S.; Newton, Katherine M.; Reed, Susan D.; Freeman, Ellen W.; Cohen, Lee S.; Joffe, Hadine; Roberts, M. A.; Caan, Bette J.

doi:10.1097/gme.0b013e31829e4089

Cited by 151 publications

(165 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Likewise, in 164 women partaking moderate physical activity, including walking and yoga, for 4 months, yielded no improvements in sleep quality in menopausal women [74]. In another randomised controlled trial in 3 different sites, which involved 106 women to moderate exercise for 12 weeks and 142 women with no addition of exercise to their daily routine, did not improve vasomotor symptoms, however, small improvements were seen in sleep quality, insomnia and mood including depression [75]. A cross sectional study of 1,071 postmenopausal Turkish women who attended an outpatient clinic from 2005 to 2012, demonstrated no association between regular exercise and urogenital symptoms [76].…”

Section: Or Not To Exercisementioning

confidence: 96%

To exercise, or, not to exercise, during menopause and beyond

Stojanovska¹,

Apostolopoulos²,

Polman³

et al. 2014

Maturitas

100

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Menopausal symptoms in women can be severe and disruptive to overall quality of life. Hormone replacement therapy, is known to be effective in ameliorating symptoms, however, reporting of side effects has resulted in alternative treatment options. Exercise has been assessed as an alternative treatment option for alleviating menopausal symptoms, including, psychological, vasomotor, somatic and sexual symptoms. Here we report the effects of physical activity and exercise on menopause symptoms in menopausal women.

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Section: Or Not To Exercisementioning

confidence: 96%

To exercise, or, not to exercise, during menopause and beyond

Stojanovska¹,

Apostolopoulos²,

Polman³

et al. 2014

Maturitas

100

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Such effects are postulated to stabilise the thermoregulatory center and reduce the incidence of VMS. 28,36 It is also known that high BMI is, however, in contrast to the fact that increased adipose tissue may also exacerbate VMS by possibly increasing insulation and reducing heat dissipation.…”

Section: Increase In Endogenous Beta-endorphin Releasementioning

confidence: 99%

“…36 Another possibility is that physical exercise may distract women from VMS. 28 Gold et al (2006) in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) reported that high BMI was associated with increase in hot flushes, thus, exercise by decreasing BMI could improve VMS.…”

Section: Mechanisms By Which Exercise May Affect Vmsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…37 Though in acute exercise brain norepinephrine and its metabolites increase, with exercise training, 28 there is a reduction in 24-hour urinary norepinephrine that may be associated with the increased vagal tone. 38 The 'stress buffering' effect of parasympathetic activation during exercise training may have an impact on counteracting the effects of stress hormones, such as cortisol and catecholamines that may precipitate hot flushes in postmenopausal women.…”

Section: Increase In Vagal Tonementioning

confidence: 99%

“…27 In a more recent RCT of 248 sedentary women with frequent VMS, 12 weeks of moderate intensity aerobic exercise training three times per week did not improve frequency or bother of VMS. 28 In two surveys of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health in 3300 middle-aged women, physical activity was not associated with VMS. 29 In a crosssectional study of 305 Turkish women, no significant relationship was observed between physical activity and VMS.…”

Section: Effect Of Aerobic Exercisementioning

confidence: 99%

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Vasomotor Symptoms: What is the Impact of Physical Exercise?

Atapattu¹

2015

JSAFOMS

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Vasomotor symptoms (VMS) or hot flushes are the commonest and the most troublesome symptoms during the menopausal transition. Though usually transient, VMS is the leading menopausal symptom presenting for medical attention. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is the most effective treatment for VMS, but many women are reluctant to use HRT and wish to pursue alternative therapy.Physical exercise of different types has been used as a mean of alleviating VMS. The potential for physical exercise to improve VMS can be explained by its effects on the postulated pathophysiologcal mechanisms of VMS. However, individual studies on the influence of physical exercise on VMS show conflicting results, with positive, negative or no effects being reported, and the review of evidence is inconclusive. The many differences in the study designs may be a reason for the varying outcomes of the studies.Physical exercise, however, have multiple benefits in postmenopausal women, in reducing cardiovascular risk factors, improving bone density and preventing osteoporosis, enhan cing muscle mass and has a positive effect on overall health. Regular physical activity should, therefore, be promoted in all postmenopausal women, though they may not derive a significant improvement of VMS.

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Exercise for vasomotor menopausal symptoms

Daley

Stokes-Lampard

Thomas

et al. 2014

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

107

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Main results We included five RCTs (733 women) comparing exercise with no active treatment, exercise with yoga and exercise with HT. The evidence was of low quality: Limitations in study design were noted, along with inconsistency and imprecision. In the comparison of exercise versus no active treatment (three studies, n = 454 women), no evidence was found of a difference between groups in frequency or intensity of vasomotor symptoms (SMD-0.10, 95% CI-0.33 to 0.13, three RCTs, 454 women, I 2 = 30%, low-quality evidence). Nor was any evidence found of a difference between groups in the frequency or intensity of vasomotor symptoms when exercise was compared with yoga (SMD-0.03, 95% CI-0.45 to 0.38, two studies, n = 279 women, I 2 = 61%, low-quality evidence). It was not possible to include one of the trials in the meta-analyses; this trial compared three groups: exercise plus soy milk, soy milk only and control; results favoured exercise relative to the comparators, but study numbers were small. One trial compared exercise with HT, and the HT group reported significantly fewer flushes in 24 hours than the exercise group (mean difference 5.8, 95% CI 3.17 to 8.43, 14 participants). None of the trials found evidence of a difference between groups with respect to adverse effects, but data were very scanty. Authors' conclusions Evidence was insufficient to show whether exercise is an effective treatment for vasomotor menopausal symptoms. One small study suggested that HT is more effective than exercise. Evidence was insufficient to show the relative effectiveness of exercise when compared with HT or yoga.

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Efficacy of exercise for menopausal symptoms

Cited by 151 publications

References 47 publications

To exercise, or, not to exercise, during menopause and beyond

To exercise, or, not to exercise, during menopause and beyond

Vasomotor Symptoms: What is the Impact of Physical Exercise?

Exercise for vasomotor menopausal symptoms

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