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Moxibustion therapy is a traditional medical treatment of China using Moxa, the dried leaf of the aromatic plant called Mugwort.
Usually, the suppliers age the mugwort and crush it up to a fluff, and practitioners burn the fluff and further process it into a stick similar to the shape of a cigar. They can use the stick indirectly, among acupuncture needles, or burn it on the skin of the patient.
The purpose is to warm and stimulate the flow of Qi, the vital energy in the body, disperse some pathogenic influences, make the blood stronger, and maintain the general health.
There are two kinds of moxibustion, such as:
1.) Direct moxibustion
2.) Indirect moxibustion
In the direct moxibustion therapy, a small quantity of moxa in the shape of a cone is placed over an acupuncture point and smoldered. This nature of moxibustion is further classified into two categories, such as:
Scarring moxibustion: In this moxibustion treatment, the moxa is placed on top of a point, burned, and allowed to continue onto the point pending it burns out totally. This may show the way to restricted scarring, blisters and scarring subsequent to healing.
Non-scarring moxibustion: In this moxibustion treatment, the moxa is placed on top of the point and lit, but it is allowed to extinguish or remove earlier than it burns the skin. The patient will feel a pleasant warming sensation that goes deep into the skin, but the patient will not feel any soreness, burning or scarring, except the moxa is left in position for too long.
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Currently, the indirect moxibustion therapy becomes an increasingly popular form of treatment because there is a much minor risk of soreness or burning. In this method of treatment, a practitioner at our TCM clinic ignites one end of a moxa stick, approximately the size and shape of a cigar, and holds it near the area of the skin being treated for minutes together pending the area becomes red.
Another type of indirect moxibustion therapy uses both moxa and acupuncture needles. A needle is introduced into an acupoint and it is retained. Then, the tip of the acupuncture needle is wrapped in moxa and lighted, creating heat to the acupoint and the nearby area. Following the preferred effect is achieved, the end of the moxa stick is extinguished and the acupuncture needle is removed.
Generally, our practitioners hold a blazing moxa stick near the surface of the skin of the patient, but not really touching it. In the Moxibustion therapy, the moxa material is formed into a pole or stick, which can be lit and allowed to burn, creating a distinctive form of extremely penetrating heat.
The burning moxa stick is held above specific areas of the skin of the patient, repeatedly, while not always, related to particular acupuncture points. The burning end of the moxa stick is held about one or two inches above the skin surface until the area becomes red and turns into suffused with heat.
It is common for patients getting moxibustion to report a swift flooding of heat that rapidly radiates along a particular pathway, generally corresponding to the jing luo path that is being treated, away from the place of application. This is a good effect because it signifies the onset of the Qi and indicates that the Qi flow has been flowing in the path.
There is a little inconvenience related to the moxibustion therapy in terms of the smoke and smell. Even though there are so-called smokeless moxa varieties, the ideal true moxa, which is prepared from mugwort, will produce lots of smoke when smoldered. Nearly all TCM clinics are well prepared with a good aeration and air cleansing system, so this is not a huge problem.
In Sydney, our Live Well clinic offers the Moxibustion therapy for:
Practitioners at our TCM clinic often perform both moxibustion therapy and acupuncture therapy during the same session when suitable for the diagnosis and treatment plan. This is because we consider that the treatments will boost the result of each treatment when applied together.
Even though the moxibustion therapy has been safely exercised in conventional Chinese medicine for centuries, it is not intended for everybody. This is for the reason that it is used particularly for patients suffering from stagnant or cold conditions, and it is not supposed to be used on anybody, who is diagnosed with much heat.
Smoldering moxa will produce much of smoke and a pungent smell, as well. Patients having respiratory disorders may demand their practitioner to use moxa sticks without smoke as a substitute.
Rest assured that in our Live Well TCM Clinic at Sydney, Yunkuo Wang who is a certified Chinese medicine practitioner will be conducting the treatment himself.