The difference between acupuncture and moxibustion

Acupuncture and moxibustion are different treatment methods and can achieve different therapeutic effects. There are certain similarities between them, as they both belong to relatively traditional Chinese medicine treatment methods. Chinese medicine experts told us that they both achieve the effects of health preservation and treatment by stimulating the corresponding acupuncture points on the body, but there are great differences between them. Let us now understand the differences between acupuncture and moxibustion.

The difference between acupuncture and moxibustion

Acupuncture and moxibustion are both part of Traditional Chinese Medicine. When these two therapies are mentioned, many people think they are the same. Actually, it is not. Chinese medicine experts point out that both acupuncture and moxibustion therapy achieve the purpose of curing diseases and maintaining health by stimulating the acupuncture points of the human body, but the two therapies are very different and are not the same therapy.

Although they are both based on the knowledge of the meridians and acupoints of the human body, acupuncture produces only physical effects, while moxibustion is a combined effect of medicine and physics. Moreover, the scope of treatment of the two is also different. The saying "moxibustion can do what acupuncture cannot do" refers to the difference.

First, both acupuncture and moxibustion achieve the purpose of curing diseases and maintaining health by stimulating the acupuncture points of the human body, but acupuncture is only a physical therapy, while moxibustion is made from "mugwort", which is known as the "king of herbs". When used in moxibustion, it can combine medicinal treatment with physical therapy.

Secondly, acupuncture can have certain side effects if not handled properly, and cross infection may occur if the needles are not properly sterilized. Moxibustion, on the other hand, is an external natural therapy and has no side effects.

Characteristics of moxibustion

First of all, the therapeutic effect of moxibustion is magical. Moxibustion therapy has a wide range of applications and was the main means of treating diseases in ancient China. In the words of traditional Chinese medicine, it has the effects of warming yang and tonifying qi, dispelling cold and relieving pain, replenishing deficiency and consolidating collapse, warming the meridians and dredging collaterals, eliminating blood stasis and dispersing nodules, and tonifying the middle and replenishing qi. It can be widely used in internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, pediatrics, and ENT diseases, and is especially effective for mastitis, prostatitis, periarthritis of the shoulder, pelvic inflammatory disease, cervical spondylosis, diabetes, etc.

Secondly, moxibustion has a unique health-care effect. Using moxibustion to prevent diseases and prolong life has a history of thousands of years in my country. The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine says, "If there is a strong wind and the patient sweats, moxibustion should be applied to the Xi acupoints." This is referring to a type of moxibustion method for health care. The anti-cancer research on moxibustion conducted by Japanese researcher Sudo Saku and others also showed that moxibustion can activate the potential anti-cancer effects in skin tissue and play a role in treating and fighting cancer.

Characteristics of Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a method of curing diseases without medication. Instead, it involves inserting needles into certain parts of the patient's body to stimulate nerves and cause local reactions, or using the warmth of fire to burn the local area in order to achieve the purpose of curing the disease.

In clinical practice, acupuncture therapy is used according to the diagnosis and treatment methods of traditional Chinese medicine to diagnose the cause of the disease, find the key to the disease, and identify the nature of the disease. Then the corresponding acupoints are prescribed for treatment. It can dredge the meridians, regulate Qi and blood, bring Yin and Yang into relative balance, and harmonize the functions of internal organs, thus achieving the purpose of preventing and treating diseases.