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The Gynecological and Obstetrical Benefits Of Moxibustion

In traditional Chinese medicine, Moxibustion is a technique that entails the burning of a spongy herb small herb called mugwort, also known as “moxa,” to promote healing. For thousands of years, people in Asia have used moxibustion to treat a variety of ailments and maladies. In fact, acupuncture has a Chinese character that literally means “acupuncture-moxibustion,” when translated. As with almost all types of types of Chinese medicine, moxibustion is mainly used to facilitate the smooth flow of blood and qi, resolve inflammation, and keep the body in good health and wellbeing.

If needed, many practitioners include moxibustion into their acupuncture treatment protocol. Moxibustion can also be used as a standalone therapy. Some patients are provided with a stick of moxa to continue treatment at home. To safely self-treat themselves at home, patients are given instructions by their acupuncturist on how to properly administer treatment.

Direct and Indirect Moxibustion

These are the two types of moxibustion. In the first type, direct moxibustion, a small moxa in the shape of a cone is placed on top of a protective balm set over a pressure point and lit. The patient experiences a sensation that warm and pleasant that goes through the skin and deep into the body.

In the other type of moxibustion, indirect moxibustion, a cigar-sized and shaped moxa stick, is burnt and placed close to the treatment site for a number of minutes. There is also one other form of indirect moxibustion in which both moxa and acupuncture needles are used. In this technique, the acupuncturist first sticks a needle into an acupoint. Then a moxa cone is placed on the head of the needle and burned producing heat to the surrounding area and the point. After achieving the desired effect, the moxa flame is put off and the needle removed.

The Uses of Moxibustion Therapy

Moxibustion in West Orange is used on people suffering from a stagnant or internal cold condition. The heat from a lit moxa warms the energy channels and dispels cold resulting in smoother flow of qi (energy) and blood. Nowadays, patients have become less susceptible to internal cold, and moxibustion is usually now used to enhance qi, alleviate tendonitis and other forms of inflammation, and boost circulation.

Breech babies can be successfully turned to their proper head-down position just before to childbirth with the help of moxibustion. In fact, in 1998 the JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) published a landmark study showing that after being treated with moxibustion at an acupoint on the little toe up to three quarters of women with breech presentation issues prior to childbirth were able to rotate their fetuses to the normal position. And as gleaned from other studies, moxibustion increases the fetus’s movement in pregnant women, and can help relieve menstrual cramping when used as an adjunct to traditional acupuncture.

Why Acupuncturists Use Mugwort and Not Any Other Kind of Herb

Ai Ye or Artemesia vulgaris which is respectively the Chinese and scientific name of Mugwort, has been used for thousands of years in Asia. In herbal medicine it is internally used and used as well in moxibustion therapy. This plant is believed to posses warming and blood-invigorating attributes. Studies have revealed that mugwort acts as an agent that boosts blood flow to the uterus and pelvic region and, when taken internally, stimulates menstruation.

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