Saint Louis UniversityCollege of NursingSUBMITTED BY:CERIACO, ChedanCALICA, Angelica BiancaCAYAGO, VanelynDIPASUPIL, Ma. YsabelKIMPAY, MarylLAROCO, Timmy IvyLOMITENG, Angelica

MOXIBUSTION

Moxibustion is a traditional Chinese medicine technique thatinvolves the burning of mugwort, a small, spongy herb, to facilitatehealing. Moxibustion has been used throughout Asia for thousands of years; in fact, the actual Chinese character for acupuncture, translatedliterally, means "acupuncture-moxibustion." The purpose of moxibustion, as with most forms of traditional Chinese medicine, is tostrengthen the blood, stimulate the flow of

, and maintain generalhealth.Moxibustion treats and prevents diseases by applying heat topoints or certain locations of the human body. The material used ismainly " moxa - wool " in the form of a cone or stick. For centuries,moxibustion and acupuncture have been used in clinical practice, thusthey are usually termed together in Chinese. Chapter 73 of MiraculousPivot states, “A disease that may not be treated by acupuncture maybe treated by moxibustion.” In Introduction to Medicine it says, “Whena disease fails to respond to medication and acupuncture, moxibustionis suggested.”

Other common name(s):

acumoxa, auricular mo, moxabustion

Types of Moxibustion

1.Direct moxibustion- a small, cone-shaped amount of moxa isplaced on top of an acupuncture point and burned.

Categorized into two typesa. Scarring moxibustion- the moxa is placed on a point,ignited, and allowed to remain onto the point until itburns out completely. This may lead to localizedscarring, blisters and scarring after healing.b. Non-scarring moxibustion- the moxa is placed onthe point and lit, but is extinguished or removedbefore it burns the skin. The patient will experience apleasant heating sensation that penetrates deep intothe skin, but should not experience any pain, blisteringor scarring unless the moxa is left in place for too long.2.Indirect moxibustion - is currently the more popularform of care because there is a much lower risk of pain or burning.A practitioner lights one end of amoxa stick, roughly the shape and size of a cigar,and holds it close to the area being treated forseveral minutes until the area turns red. Anotherform of indirect moxibustion uses both acupunctureneedles and moxa. A needle is inserted into anacupoint and retained. The tip of the needle is thenwrapped in moxa and ignited, generating heat to

the point and the surrounding area. After the desired effect isachieved, the moxa is extinguished and the needle(s) removed.

Theory and Practice

Practitioners use moxa to warm regions andacupuncture pointswiththe intention of stimulatingcirculationthrough the points and inducinga smoother flow of bloodandqi. Scientific research has shown that mugwort acts as anemmenagogue, meaning that it stimulates blood-flow in thepelvic areaanduterus. It is claimed that moxibustion militates against cold and dampness in the body and can supposedlyserve to turnbreech babies.Medical historians believe that moxibustion pre-datedacupuncture, and needling came to supplement moxa (jgmnhs) afterthe2

century BC. Different schools of acupuncture use moxa invarying degrees. For example afive-element acupuncturistwill usemoxa directly on the skin, whilst a TCM-style practitioner will use rollsof moxa and hold them over the point treated.

Process and Volume for Moxibustion

The Precious Prescriptions points out that " Moxibustion isgenerally applied to yang portion first, then yin portion; clinically it isapplied to the upper part first and then the lower part.” Treat the backfirst, the abdominal region second; the head and body first and thefour extremities second. But the sequence should be given accordingto the pathological conditions. The volume for moxibustion, including the size of moxa cone orduration of the moxa stick application should be in parallel to thepatient’s pathological conditions, general constitution, age and the sitewhere moxibustion is to be applied. Generally, three to seven moxacones are used for each point, and ten to fifteen minutes for theapplication of moxa stick.Large blisters should be punctured and drained. If pus is formed,the blister should be dressed to prevent further infection.

Uses of Moxibustion

1.In traditional Chinese medicine, moxibustion is used on peoplewho have a cold or stagnant condition. The burning of moxa isbelieved to expel cold and warm the meridians, which leads tosmoother flow of blood and

.2.In Western medicine, moxibustion has successfully been used toturn breech babies into a normal head-down position prior tochildbirth. A landmark study published in the

Journal of the American Medical Association

in 1998 found that up to 75% of women suffering from breech presentations before childbirth hadfetuses that rotated to the normal position after receivingmoxibustion at an acupuncture point on the Bladder meridian.