Moxibustion

Moxibustion is a traditional Chinese medicine technique that involves the burning of mugwort, artemesia vulgaris, above the skin. Moxibustion has been used for thousands of years to strengthen the quality of blood and stimulate blood flow to initiate healing and maintain general health.

5 things moxibustion helps:

Moxa deeply warms the abdomen to alleviate menstrual pain.
It penetrates sore joints and relieves swelling.
Amazingly, moxa can turn breech babies.
Moxa can warm extremities and relieve raynaud's syndrome.
Muscle pain aggravated by cold can be resolved with moxa.

How does moxibustion work?

There are two methods of moxibustion treatment: direct and indirect. Direct moxibustion, is the practice of rolling the moxa into a small rice shaped bead. This bead is then placed onto salve on an acupuncture point and burned, ifgently warms the acupuncture point. Indirect moxibustion utilizes a cigar-like tube of moxa which is burned 1-2 inches above the skin.

Regardless which form of moxibustion, the patient experiences a gentle heating sensation that penetrates deep into the body. The patient should never experience any pain. Most people find moxibustion to be a pleasant sensation.

What is moxibustion used for?

Moxibustion is used when a patient feels cold, or when increased blood flow is necessary to facilitate healing. The burning of moxa expels the cold and warms the blood, which leads to an increase in circulation. This increase in circulation promotes healing by bringing fresh, oxygenated blood to the site of an injury. Moxibustion has proven effective in rotating the position of breech babies prior to childbirth. Women with breech presentation should begin therapy around week 34 of their pregnancy. A study published in 1998 in the Journal of the American Medical Association states that around 70% of women with breech presentation fetuses prior to labor had babies that rotated to normal position after moxibustion treatments.

Links

Many links with more moxibustion information:

http://www.docmisha.com/understanding/moxibustion/

http://www.balfourhealing.com/moxi.html

http://www.itmonline.org/arts/moxibustion.htm