Scribd
Upload
62 views1 page

Moxibustion OneSheet

Moxibustion is a traditional Chinese medicine technique that involves burning mugwort, a small herb, to facilitate healing. Practitioners use moxibustion to warm acupuncture points by holding or placing mugwort above the skin, with the goal of stimulating energy flow through the body. Moxibustion is believed to strengthen blood flow and treat deficiencies. It is considered a generally safe treatment method with few side effects when applied properly by a practitioner.

Uploaded by

matan stern
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
62 views1 page

Moxibustion OneSheet

Moxibustion is a traditional Chinese medicine technique that involves burning mugwort, a small herb, to facilitate healing. Practitioners use moxibustion to warm acupuncture points by holding or placing mugwort above the skin, with the goal of stimulating energy flow through the body. Moxibustion is believed to strengthen blood flow and treat deficiencies. It is considered a generally safe treatment method with few side effects when applied properly by a practitioner.

Uploaded by

matan stern
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

MOXIBUSTION

WHAT IS MOXIBUSTION?
For inpatient appointments:
Moxibustion is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) technique that involves the
Boston Children's Hospital
burning of mugwort, a small, spongy herb, to facilitate healing. Moxibustion has
300 Longwood Avenue
been used throughout Asia for thousands of years. Medical historians believe
Boston, MA 02115
that moxibustion pre-dates acupuncture, and needling came to supplement
617-355-4158
moxibustion after the 2nd century BC.
For outpatient appointments:
The purpose of moxibustion, as with most forms of traditional Chinese medi- Boston Children’s at Waltham
cine, is to strengthen the blood, stimulate the flow of qi (life energy) and main- 9 Hope Avenue
tain general health. Suppliers usually age the mugwort and grind it up to a fluff; Waltham, MA 02453
practitioners then burn the fluff or process it further into a stick that resembles 781-216-3700
a cigar (called moxa). They can use it indirectly, with acupuncture needles, or
sometimes apply it on a patient’s skin.

WHAT HAPPENS DURING MOXIBUSTION?


Practitioners use moxibustion to warm regions and acupuncture points with
the intention of stimulating energy circulation through the points and inducing
a smoother flow of energy. Mugwort is thought to act as an emmenagogue,
meaning that it stimulates blood flow.

Most acupuncture practitioners use rolls of moxa and hold them over the point
to be treated. The herb can also be burned atop a fine slice of ginger root to
prevent scarring. The primary advantage of moxibustion treatment is its safety.
If it is properly applied, there are almost no side effects. Practitioners consider
moxibustion to be especially effective in the treatment of chronic problems and
what TCM views as “deficient conditions” (weaknesses). They believe that mox-
ibustion might add new energy to the body and treat both excess and deficient
conditions.

ABOUT US
The Medical Acupuncture Service is part of the Department of Anesthesiology,
Critical Care and Pain Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital. Led by Yuan-Chi
Lin, MD, MPH, and Cynthia Tung, MD, MPH, our doctors are fully licensed in
Western medicine and also have thorough training in acupuncture as a specialty
practice. The service provides care for children and young adults to help them
manage a variety of acute and chronic pain as well as non-pain-related illness-
es through acupuncture. We offer services though our inpatient facility at the
Boston Children’s Longwood Campus and our outpatient Medical Acupuncture
Clinic at Boston Children’s Waltham location. The majority of patients come
weekly for 4 to 6 weeks.

You might also like