Acupuncture & Moxibustion
- Acupuncture involves the insertion of extremely thin needles through your skin at strategic points on your body. A key component of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture is most commonly used to treat pain.
- Traditional Chinese medicine explains acupuncture as a technique for balancing the flow of energy or life force — known as qi or chi (CHEE) — believed to flow through pathways (meridians) in your body. By inserting needles into specific points along these meridians, acupuncture practitioners believe that your energy flow will re-balance.
- Acupuncture can be used as a “stand alone” treatment and it can also be combined with other treatment (such as moxibustion) to increase the effectiveness of the treatment.
Acupuncture is recognized by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to be effective in the treatment of a wide variety of medical problems. Below is a list of disorders for which acupuncture is effective (according to the NIH):
•Muscle, Bone and Nerve Pain and Diseases Sprains / Strains Back Pain Leg Pain Foot Pain Stiff Shoulders and Neck Lumbago Sciatica Tennis Elbow Carpal Tunnel syndrome and Painful Joints TMJ;
•Toothache Headache and Migraines Rheumatism; Arthritis Facial Paralysis; Bell’s Palsy Fibromyalgia
•Obstetrics and gynecology Menstrual Pain and Cramping PMS Menopause Infertility Fetal Malposition
•Addictions Tobacco Narcotics Alcohol Weight Loss
•Diseases of the heart and blood vessels Angina High blood pressure
•Obesity, Drug addiction, Smoking
•Digestive disorders Indigestion Stomach ulcers Gall stones Diarrhea Constipation Nausea and vomiting Irritable Bowel Syndrome
•Diseases of the respiratory system Allergies Asthma Bronchitis Sinusitis
•Diseases of the nervous system Stroke Neuralgia Stress, anxiety, depression and other nervous disorders Nerve paralysis Headaches/migraines
Moxibustion is a traditional Chinese medicine technique that involves the burning of mugwort, a small, spongy herb, to facilitate healing. Moxibustion has been used throughout Asia for thousands of years; in fact, the actual Chinese character for acupuncture, translated literally, means "acupuncture-moxibustion."
The purpose of moxibustion, as with most forms of traditional Chinese medicine, is to strengthen the blood, stimulate the flow of qi, and maintain general health.