Hot flush (HF) is the most common symptom among menopausal syndrome and can significantly affect women's quality of life. Considering the risk of hormone therapy, the behavioral therapies have been proposed for the alternative treatment of HF. However, the exercise prescription for women with HF is controversial. Previous studies show the inconsistent effect of aerobic exercise on HF, and a moderate-to-high intensity exercise seems to aggravate HF frequency and severity. Recent studies have shown that static stretching exercise could improve HF in middle-aged women, but the related research is quite few, and the physiological mechanism as well as predictors for responders who can benefit from stretching exercise are still not clear. The knowledge of predictors for responders will provide clinicians and clients with HF symptoms to choose static stretching exercise as their treatment.
This study investigates the effect and predictors of static stretching exercise on hot flush in women after performing 4-week stretching exercises.