Moxa therapy (also: moxibustion) is a variety of acupuncture and, like acupuncture, is native to traditional Chinese medicine. Unlike acupuncture, this alternative medicine therapy is still little known in Western countries. The name moxibustion, which is less common today, is composed of the Japanese plant name mogusa (Latinized moxa = true mugwort) and the Latin root buro (= to burn).
Moxibustion for treatment
Moxa therapy involves burning small amounts of medicinal herbs over acupuncture points. Most often, this is the medicinal and spice plant mugwort. It is dried and then processed into various forms of moxa, usually cones or absorbent cotton (wool). Mugwort contains in effective components mainly essential oils (cineol, thuja oil), besides:
- Choline
- Tree resins
- Vitamins A, B, C and D
- Tanin
- Potassium chloride
- Iron
- Magnesium
About the heat effect when burning down, the meridian system (energy pathways) is stimulated, whereby the body’s own energies should flow better again. In traditional Chinese medicine, moxa therapy is also used to prevent disease. According to an old Chinese proverb, no one should undertake a journey who has not first enriched the Qi, the life energy, through moxa.
Treatment with moxa
Moxibustion can be done in different ways. The following forms of moxa treatment are available:
- Direct method
- Indirect method
- Moxa cigar
- Needle moxa
Important: On the face and mucous membranes, the therapy is taboo.
Direct and indirect moxa treatment.
In the direct method, the therapist places cones or cuboids of dried medicinal herb on the acupuncture points and ignites them. They are slowly burned off until the patient feels a sensation of heat, called de qi, which is often described as a sharp heat pain. The direct method can cause burn blisters, sometimes scars, depending on the duration. In this form it is painful and is used almost only in China. In Europe, the indirect method is more common. A ginger disc, garlic or salt is placed under the moxa cone as burn protection or to support the effect. When the patient feels a sensation of heat at the acupuncture point, the moxa cone is moved to the next point. Each acupuncture point should be heated six to eight times.
Moxa cigar: therapy with a moxa stick.
However, the medicinal herb can also be used in the form of a moxa cigar. This is a moxa stick rolled in thin paper, which is lit at one end. The therapist repeatedly approaches the acupuncture points with the glowing tip of the cigar (to within 0.5-1 centimeters) until the treated person feels the de qi sensation. Again, the process is repeated until the skin is clearly reddened.
Needle moxa with acupuncture needles.
In addition, you can put a piece of moxa on an acupuncture needle that has already been placed. With this needle moxa, the heat from the glowing powder is conducted through the needle directly into the skin. A session lasts about 15 to 30 minutes and is initially repeated at one-day then further intervals (up to eight treatments in total). After that, a maintenance dose every seven to ten days is sufficient.
Areas of application of moxa therapy
The Huang Di Nei Jing, the textbook of the Yellow Emperor, recommends moxibustion for diseases caused by cold and dampness and for diseases of the debilitating type. The main areas of application today are diseases of a chronic nature, for example:
- Chronic bronchitis
- Chronic asthma
- Depression
- Weakness states after chronic diseases
- Exhaustion reactions
Similar to acupuncture, it is also used in the treatment of pain, for example, migraine and tension headache, in addition to diseases of the musculoskeletal system such as shoulder-neck tension, disc damage or lumbago.
Self-treatment with moxa
Moxa therapy is also well suited for self-treatment. For this purpose, the patient is introduced to moxibustion as comprehensively as possible by the attending physician. The safest method for home treatment is the indirect method with moxa cigar or moxa cone. For orientation, the doctor marks the selected acupuncture points with a waterproof felt-tip pen.
Complications of moxa therapy
It is better to refrain from moxa therapy in acute diseases. Moxa therapy should also not be used in case of fever, high blood pressure, insomnia or during menstruation.
