Benefits of Moxibustion for Pain Relief
By Tory Wegner, LAc
Most of us have heard of the acronym RICE for an injury: Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. This is what you’re supposed to do immediately following an acute injury like an ankle sprain. After that time the pain and inflammation should be less and the injury starting to heal. However, clinically I’ve found that in many instances pain has a slow onset and may not be the direct result of an injury. In these kinds of cases, ice may not always be appropriate. So the question is, if you can’t use RICE, what do you do to treat the pain?
Heat therapy is often overlooked as an effective treatment for pain. After the acute phase of an injury has passed, applying a heating pad or warmed rice pack can actually increase the circulation and blood flow to the painful area, helping restore flexibility and mobility. Chinese medicine has its own form of heat therapy called Moxibustion. Moxa wool or Artemisia Vulgaris, Ai Ye, or mugwort, a type of Chrysanthemum, is rolled into a cigar-shaped stick of which the end is lit and is held ½-1 inch above the skin. It never touches or burns the skin, but produces a gentle warming sensation to the area. This technique of applying heat over acupuncture points to painful areas of the body can treat and relieve many types of pain.
Moxibustion is not appropriate for all pain conditions; it is most often used for chronic, lingering pain. It helps warm the area, increase circulation, and move the blood. It’s especially great for arthritic conditions that get worse in cold weather; a condition referred to as “Cold Obstruction” syndrome in Chinese medicine.
What I commonly see in practice is someone who had an injury years ago but never experienced any pain until years later. They then started to have pain that would come and go, a dull ache or intense pain experienced with certain movements or activities. After a long period of time, the condition became chronic. When these types of patients go to the doctor and are examined, there may not be anything structurally wrong with them. All their tests come back normal, yet they still have the pain. Their treatment might be muscle relaxants, pain relievers, or over-the-counter medicine like Tylenol Arthritis. These patients often come for acupuncture because they are tired of taking medicine, are having side effects from the medicine, or realize that the pain is still there and the pills are just masking it. They are often surprised that acupuncture and moxibustion are rebalancing their whole body, strengthening the weak area, and producing lasting pain relief.
I have one case in particular that has really made me realize the benefits of moxibustion. A woman in her 60’s with arthritis in her neck was causing a great deal of discomfort, limiting her range of motion and making driving difficult. She loved gardening but couldn’t do it any longer because it would cause the pain to flare up, so she’d given it up. After regular treatments with moxibustion, she began noticing increased range of motion, less pain and she was able to reduce her dose of Tylenol to half. Now her quality of life is so much better and she can garden, drive, and travel without worrying about her neck. If she overdoes it, the pain can still flare up, but it resolves much faster. She now comes in once a month or so for “tune-up” treatments, just to keep her neck in the best shape possible. She went from having her neck dictate her life to returning to all the activities she loves.
So if you are experiencing chronic, lingering pain put down that ice pack and try some heat therapy. Or better yet, come in for a treatment with moxibustion and see what a difference heat can make!