Perhaps if you’ve ever been to an Acupuncture Physician or Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor you have heard this mysterious word…moxibustion (or moxa for short).  I decided we needed to know more about this stuff and found some pretty interesting things!

Moxa is made from mugwart.  Which is a plant that contains multiple kinds of essential oils and flavanoids, that are believed to carry a whole host of benefits!  Mugwart was documented for medicinal uses as far back as 3BC in a poem!  I can’t even wrap my head around how long ago that was!  I’ve found that it’s used in some medicinal way by just about every culture in the world…in the world!!!  That’s crazy!

This magical plant is dried and commonly used as a heat therapy in a few different ways.  In our office it’s used in an indirect way, so as to not touch the skin.  The form we use is a smoke-less compressed kind, rolled into a fancy cigar shape.  A physician lights it on fire and blows it out, much like incense.  It also has an incense type aroma, personally a relaxing and calming smell to me.  As it burns, it’s used to warm either Acupuncture points or the already inserted needles themselves.  It’s seriously so stress relieving because it’s warm and relaxing but with actual health benefits as well.  If I could have moxa done at each visit, I totally would just for its smell and  calming effects!

It is believed that moxa can help with chronic problems such as pain, colitis, and constipation but also for stroke, cancer, and hypertension when coupled with Acupuncture!  It’s even used to turn babies!  What?!  It works by increasing circulation, which creates smoother flow of qi (energy/blood) through the meridian of your body.  This stuff is amazing!  Maybe the next time you’re in Orlando – ask your TCM doctor or Acupuncturist if you would benefit from Moxa therapy!

I truly loved my experience with moxa and I sincerely hope you do as well!

In the last decade the amount of research being conducted to determine what effect Acupuncture has on the brain and the body has grown exponentially, perhaps driven by it’s expanding role in Alternative and Complementary Medicine.

But Western Medicine in our Western World has always been the first line of attack. Western medicine has had a great deal of success in battling Heart disease, bacterial and viral infections and of course any catastrophic physical injury inflicted on the body. But when it comes to chronic persistent diseases that are quite simply a malfunction of our own body’s ability to maintain homeostasis, it has had few successes and must resort to drugs that at least temporarily, relieve symptoms.

Cancer, Autoimmune disease, Parkinson’s, Depression, Anxiety, Stress all fall into that limbo land of Western medicine. In the case of these diseases, we are not trying to stop an outside invader from attacking us (like Tuberculosis, Flu, Cholera, etc) the attack is from within. With these chronic diseases there is no invader. It is our own body that is malfunctioning.

In Parkinson’s for some unknown reason, the dopaminergic neurons become deteriorated and can’t deliver dopamine to the area of the brain that controls motor function. No dopamine, no nourishment to relay signals from the brain to the muscles and sinews of the body. Thus resulting in halting gait, tremors, muscle fatigue and stiffness.

We know through research that there is inflammation in the mid brain with Parkinson’s disease. Yet pharmaceuticals that reduce inflammation do not seem to help the symptoms of Parkinson’s. Levadopa, Carbadopa are still the leading drug protocol that when used early in the disease have the most effect to stave off the progression of the disease for 2-5 years for most but start to lose their effectiveness after that time.

Oriental medicine is based on viewing the body wholistically. The medicine, be it herbal or Acupuncture, is completely individualized. The diagnosis is one that takes into account, indeed relies upon the interactions of multiple systems functioning in our bodies.

Today we actually know that one of the most important outcomes of Acupuncture and it’s mechanism of action, is it produces a down-regulation of the Autonomic Nervous System, which re-calibrates the central nervous system. Now what that means is that the stress response of the body is mediated by Acupuncture through the body-brain connection. The result is a reduction in both pain and inflammation. When inflammation, pain and the stress response are adjusted, the body can do what it was designed to do: create balance return to homeostasis.

Does this mean it cures Parkinson’s? Of course not. It means that the environment of the body has been shifted which may allow the body to re-calibrate itself, hopefully stopping or slowing down the progression of this disease.

What we do know for a fact is that stress plays a major role in this disease, causing deficiencies on many levels. If Acupuncture did no more than to reduce the stress and therefore the inflammation, it would be a major contribution for your overall health. But recent research has proved it does more than this.

There is, in short, many good reasons to consider a more wholisitic “body environment” approach to this disease as well as all chronic “system failure” diseases. Most importantly there is hope both in Western Medicine as it begins to shift it’s perspective to a more individualized, wholistic approach as well as in Oriental Medicine, which over the course of 3,500 years has developed and expanded it’s unique mind-body approach to Disease.