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HRT for You
COMPLIMENTARY
THERAPIES
There are many things that can be done along with HRT to help
control the symptoms of menopause, these are called
complimentary therapies because they compliment the effects of the HRT. These therapies are
basically lifestyle changes that in general improve your overall
health. The list of complimentary
therapies seems endless, so below is a list and description of some of the
therapies as well as some links that contain more information. Because HRT is not for everyone, these
therapies can also be used without the use of HRT to
help alleviate the symptoms associated with menopause.
GENERAL EXERCISE
Exercise is known
to be good for you it can benefit the heart and bones, help regulate weight,
and contributes to a sense of overall well-being and improvement in mood.
People who do not engage in regular exercise are more susceptible to coronary
heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and osteoporosis. Women who regularly walk, jog, swim, bike, dance,
or perform some other aerobic activity may be able to prevent these problems and also achieve beneficial as we grow older. Exercise can
also prevent our reaction times from slowing down.
Recently, there has been a move away
from aerobic training toward strength training and weight bearing exercise.
Research suggests that any exercise involving weights can delay loss of bone
and muscle tissue, which is a natural consequence of aging, whereas non-weight
bearing have no real effect.
In a study conducted by the Mayo Clinic
a group of 65 postmenopausal women not on HRT were randomly assigned into a
control group and an exercise group (type of exercise was non-loading or
non-weight bearing) . These two groups
had bone mineral density tests done every 6 months for 2 years, at the end of
two years their was no significant difference between the two groups (Sinaki et al., 1989).
Another study in the Journal of Bone Mineral Research looked
at the relationship between resistance training and bone mass. This study showed the effectiveness strength
training had in maintaining adequate bone density (Kerr et al., 2001).
Before starting a program of exercise,
consult your physician.
YOGA
Yoga
can help curb menopausal symptoms such as insomnia, depression, hot flashes,
and mood swings. The deep breathing and relaxation done by yoga helps to
improve blood circulation, maintain muscle tone and flexibility, and increase
the levels of mood-regulating chemicals in the brain. Yoga may be beneficial for osteoporosis and
heart disease, two concerns of menopausal women. This is because it provides
weight-bearing exercise that encourages strong bones and it can help to lower
cholesterol and improve the efficiency of the heart. Yoga sessions are based
on a combination of breathing exercises, warm-ups, poses, and meditation.
According to one clinical trial held in
KEGEL
EXERCISES
Urinary incontinence affects 30-60% of ALL postmenopausal
women. Kegels
exercises can help to strengthen the pelvic floor. This helps to prevent or
alleviate urinary incontinence. A
You
can identify pubococcygeal muscles in one of the
following ways:
Begin to urinate and then stop. The same muscle you use to control
urination is the muscle that you will contract then relax during the Kegel exercises.
Inserting a tampon and squeeze around it. These muscles are the
ones used in the exercise.
How to
do Kegel Exercises:
Hold pubococcygeal
muscle for at least five to ten seconds and then release it slowly. After
mastering the slow Kegel exercise, you should also do
a series of rapid ones. They should be repeated ten to fifteen times, and the
whole session should be repeated three to five times per day.
Kegel exercises can be done at any time of
the day since they are invisible to the observer. Women can integrate Kegel exercise into any part of their daily routine-like
when you are on the elevator, or driving or talking on the phone, or while
taking a shower.
Advantages of the Kegel
Exercises:
By developing the muscles around the
vaginal area, the woman can have more control and pleasure during the sexual
encounter.
Kegel
exercises can tone up muscles and stop incontinence.
Kegel exercises can build up the muscles in
order to counteract any muscle loosening that occurs as a result of menopause.
Doing
your Kegels faithfully can restore your pelvic floor
muscles enough that a sneeze or heavy lifting won't cause urination. A key
point in this training-which can also improve some cases of urge
incontinence-is that it can work for the properly selected patient so long as
exercises are done regularly and consistently. You should consult a health-care
professional for a detailed exercise program.
Kegel
exercises in combination with low-dose estrogens is an effective therapy for
incontinence. Estrogens replenish the cellular surface of the urinary opening,
the base of the bladder, and the lining of the urinary passage. The exercise
build up muscles. The combination is effective in the closure of the bladder so
that urine will not leak out.
NUTRITIONAL THERAPY
Eating a diet rich in soy and phytoestrogens may be beneficial to your cardiovascular
system. Medical
research has demonstrated numerous benefits associated with phytoestrogens.
In a study published in the journal Menopause, for example, the women
who participated ate one of three diets; two diets were rich in phytoestrogens such as soybeans and flax seeds, and the
other diet was a standard diet. Of the
two diets rich in soy one had the soy in a single dose and the other had it
split into two doses. In the groups that
ate the phytoestrogen-rich diet, cholesterol levels
declined, a decrease in diastolic blood pressure was noticed in the twice a day
group, there was also a difference in the vasomotor symptoms for the twice a
day group, and the menopausal symptoms,
such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness, did not decrease significantly
(Washburn et al., 1999).
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