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Moxibustion Is A Healing Art To Treat And Prevent Flu Strains And Cold

Moxibustion is an alternative healing art that uses heat from a burning dried plant called “moxa” which is placed very close to the surface of the skin. It works by invigorating and warming the flow of blood and energy (Chi) in the body to remove certain pathogenic elements.

Moxa is often derived from the dried leaves of the Artemesia vulgaris or Artemesia argyi plant, aka Chinese mugwort although it can be made out of other substances as well.

How is Moxibustion administered?

Generally, moxibustion practitioners in the U.S. hold a stick of burning moxa stick very near the skin careful to avoid the stick from touching the surface of the patient’s skin.

The moxa stick is made by compressing the moxa material into a pole or stick or pole, making it look like a big cigar that can be ignited and allowed to smolder, generating a therapeutic type of extremely penetrating heat.

The flaming moxa stick is hovered over the site of treatment usually, though not always, associated with specific acupuncture points or acupoints. The moxa stick’s glowing end is held about one or a couple of inches above the skin surface until the site becomes saturated with warmth and reddens.

What can patients expect from the treatment?

Patients undergoing moxibustion therapy often experience an unexpected inundation of warmth that rapidly travels along a certain pathway (that oftentimes correspond to the jing luo meridian being treated) away from the area of treatment. This suggests a positive result, since this is a sign that the flow of xue and Chi has been released from the meridian.

What are the uses of moxibustion?

Moxibustion is used for:

  • Treatment and prevention against flu strains and cold
  • Conditions affecting women including breech presentation in late term pregnancy
  • Irregular bowel movement and digestive conditions
  • Pain caused by arthritis or injury, particularly when the application of heat leads to natural pain relief

Practitioners often perform moxibustion and Spokane acupuncture together in the same treatment session proper to the diagnosis and plan of treatment. They think that when used together, the treatments augment each other’s effectiveness.

Moxibustion can be easily performed at home, not like acupuncture, which is often done in a clinic setting by a qualified acupuncturist. Chinese moxibustion practitioners, usually help teach their patients to use moxa for self-administration to boost the effects of the treatments between appointment sessions.

What smell does moxibustion create?

One small disadvantage of moxibustion therapy is the odor and smoke it produces. While there are “smokeless” forms of moxa, when burned, the chosen real moxa (produced from mugwort) produces a lot of smoke. Many TCM clinics are properly well equipped with a good air purification and ventilation system ventilation, so this is not a major issue.

Nevertheless, the prevailing smoke generated smells unfortunately a bit like marijuana. Many US practitioners of TCM, place signs in their office walls informing visitors and patients about the real nature of the smell that they may be smelling.

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