Can Exercise Improve Symptoms in Menopausal Women?

During menopause, women experience numerous symptoms of a psychological, somatic, vasomotor, and/or sexual nature. Women may experience none, some, or all of these types of symptoms to varying degrees, often having a significant negative impact on their overall quality of life. Data suggest that women who participate in regular exercise experience less menopausal symptoms than those who do not; hence, exercise may present a safe and accessible therapy for the symptoms of menopause. However, there are also many studies in the literature that show little or no effect of exercise alleviating these symptoms. We present the existing data and highlight the need for well-designed, appropriately powered studies in the future.