Moxibustion and acupuncture in Miami are both Chinese medicinal practices that have been used to prevent and treat disease for thousands of years. A practitioner/physician may stimulate acupuncture points with moxibustion, a technique involving the lighting up of a small spongy herb called mugwort to promote healing. Acupuncture treatment stimulates acupuncture points through the insertion of sterile, fine needles into these points that lie along the energy channels of the body called meridians to boost the flow of Qi (energy) and remove energy blockages within the person.
Acupuncture works on the theory that inside the body, Qi flows in a smooth pattern that is responsible for health; if this flow is disrupted, disease sets in. Acupuncture rectifies circulation imbalances at specific points near the skin. These days, acupuncture is considered a natural, effective, and growing popular type of treatment that people all over the world use.
The needles used in acupuncture are so fine that when they’re inserted into the skin, the person feels no pain or discomfort whatsoever; rather, he or she may feel a slight tingle that doesn’t last long. For about 20 minutes or so, the needles are left inserted in the body during which time the person experiences a feeling of relaxation and heaviness of the limbs.
Since moxibustion and acupuncture facilitates the natural healing ability of the body, they are thus able to treat many types of conditions. Both are comprehensive systems of maintenance and preventative health care. Acupuncture’s efficacy has been well-documented. This treatment, throughout its long history, has been well-proven to work well and is an ideal alternative for health care against many diseases, where other modes of therapy have failed or failed to attain good results.
An acupuncturist needs to have wide experience and adequate knowledge when providing the right treatment to his/her patients. It is extremely important to avoid going to an unqualified acupuncturist so as not to experience undesirable complications and getting severe medical conditions.
Acupuncture has been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a bona fide treatment for dozens of different health conditions. In an official report released by the WHO entitled, Acupuncture: Review and Analysis of Reports on Controlled Clinical Trials, it was claimed that through controlled trials, the following conditions, diseases, and symptoms can be effectively treated with acupuncture:
Acute and chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer, acute epigastralgia, primary dysmenorrhea, acute bacillary dysentery, depression (including post stroke depression and depressive neurosis, biliary colic, hay fever, allergic rhinitis, side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy, leucopenia, renal colic, primary hypotension, essential hypertension, stroke, postsurgical pain, nausea and vomiting, morning sickness, breech baby presentation, labor inducement, rheumatoid arthritis, TMJ (temporomandibular pain), dental pain, headache, migraine, facial pain, tinnitus, sprains, periarthritis of the shoulder, knee pain, tennis elbow, sciatica, neck pain, and low back pain.
Some clinical studies have been done in the field of acupuncture that led to positive results, and there has also been certain follow-up evaluation of several of the illnesses that acupuncturists have treated. Quite a few illnesses are better treated with moxibustion and acupuncture successfully compared to the other modalities that have failed or have been unable to generate positive results.
Acupuncturists make it a point to provide their patients with information about the treatment in order for their patients to better appreciate the usefulness and versatility of acupuncture vis-à-vis their specific condition. Most the facts and figures mentioned below are based from clinical trials and personal experience.
Muscle, Bone, and Joint Diseases
As a system in the body, the muscles, bones and joints of the body are collectively called the musculoskeletal system. When this system becomes damaged or diseased, it almost always leads to pain, which is sometimes referred to as arthritis or rheumatism.
Three major kinds of damage can occur to the musculoskeletal system. Sprain or sudden injury is the first. This can be a type of domestic injury, or can be incurred in a car accident or during a sporting activity. Sudden sprain or injury usually results in bruising and local pain that can last for a few days, or even a few weeks or more. Arthritis is the next major group and this is usually categorized as either rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis.
Sprains or Sudden Injury
Oftentimes, sprains or sudden injury respond well to acupuncture. The pain generated by a sprained ankle, shoulder, etc. is often felt for days or even weeks after the initial injury. Acupuncture is usually used to alleviate this type of pain, once a proper diagnosis has been made.
According to most acupuncturists, in people treated for various acute types of pain, around 70 percent experience significant and fast relief of pain. If there is fracture of the bone, then the alleviation of the pain derived from acupuncture is usually not that much effective than if the injury is brought about by a tear or a strain of the ligaments, tendons, or muscles. The main advantage of treating these acute pains with acupuncture is that chronic pain can be avoided. Immobility and pain for several months or even years can occur from a sudden shoulder injury, but with the use of acupuncture when the pain arises, chronic pain can then be avoided.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
During the initial acute stages of Rheumatoid Arthritis, there have been a few studies suggesting that acupuncture might actually exacerbate the pain (although it usually eventually subsides). Because of this, a lot of acupuncturists do not treat patients suffering from acute rheumatoid arthritis. After the acute stage of inflammation subsides, the vestigial joint destruction can then lead to the rise of secondary osteoarthritis some months after. This type of ailment responds well to acupuncture in the same manner as various forms osteoarthritic pains and aches. Musculoskeletal system diseases that lead to chronic pain can be also usually addressed with acupuncture treatment. A published study reveals that an ailment that has been occurring for several years may respond as well as an ailment that has only occurred after a few months; this means that anyone can try acupuncture as a worthwhile treatment for this type of condition.
Osteoarthritis
Rheumatic pains and osteoarthritis are quite a common problem and are caused by this type of joint damage. People often report that their arthritis knee pain becomes severe in damp or cold weather and this clearly shows the genesis of the notion of pathogens in Chinese medicine. In osteoarthritis, the pathogen is almost always damp or cold which means that these ailments are best treated with moxibustion.
Several studies have been done to observe acupuncture’s effectiveness on pain generated by osteoarthritis. The data gathered from clinical trials done on lower back, neck, elbow, hip, and knee pain reveal that significant relief of pain can be attained in about 70 percent of people who have been treated with acupuncture. However, other studies indicate that about 95 percent of patients benefiting while some studies only show half (50 percent) of people getting better with acupuncture. Acupuncture is also deemed to possess a ‘magical quality’ that medicines do not, which makes it difficult figuring out between acupuncture’s ‘magical’ effects and its real effects. Regardless of these issues, most people still consider acupuncture as an effective and safe type of remedy for osteoarthritis.
Headaches
There can be several reasons for headaches: head injury, tension, stress, sinusitis, psychological problems, dental problems, arthritis of the neck, high blood pressure, diabetes, fatigue, cold, the flu, etc. A headache is a very common complaint and one that is notoriously hard to effectively treat. Headaches can potentially be the cause of a marital disharmony or a considerable amount of distress. For the treatment of a wide range of headaches and migraines, acupuncture treatment has often been used. The treatment almost always leads to very encouraging results. In one published study, around 65 to 95 percent of people with headache obtained long lasting and major relief from pain relief after a few rounds of acupuncture treatment. Compared to other types of headache, migraines seem to respond well and sometimes, even better to acupuncture treatment. Headache treatment using acupuncture can lead to the complete eradication of the headaches, or at least lead to marked reduction in the frequency and/or severity of the headache. The amelioration of pain through acupuncture treatment may occasionally be maintained for several years and for headaches, re-treatment is usually less frequently required.
Nervous System Diseases
Strokes
Stroke can occur when the supply of blood to the brain is disrupted. Bleeding or blockage in the blood vessels can compromise the normal supply of supply blood to the brain resulting in blood supply deficiency to the tissues of the brain tissue. These developments can be due to a number of factors including severe injury to the head, a hardening of the arteries, and high blood pressure. The brain has many regions where different body functions are controlled. One area controls the sensations of pain and touch and one area is responsible for speech. An impairment of a function that may arise with a stroke will be based on the brain area that is damaged; if there is a lack of blood flow to the area where speech is controlled, this area can be damaged and the patient may be incapable of speaking properly. For strokes, acupuncture is the main form of treatment in China. In Western societies, the standard treatments for stroke are occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and speech therapy. From the Chinese point of view, these therapies, compared to acupuncture, have few to offer. Body and scalp acupuncture are procedures that can be utilized to help in the recovery of stroke. Studies reveal that acupuncture raises the supply of blood to the brain, which for some mysterious reason, has shown to boost functional ability and after a stroke, serves as a stimulus to recovery.
In the West, clinical trials observing the efficacy of acupuncture treatment for stroke recovery has shown to produce significant results. When Western medicine seems to provide little benefit for stroke patients, acupuncture can be a therapy worth considering. To get good results, a stroke victim should be treated within six months after the occurrence of the condition. Before determining whether or not acupuncture works in helping a stroke patient recover, practitioners usually treat their patients for long periods of time during which time, the patient had undergone around two hundred treatment sessions.
Post-herpetic Neuralgia
Post-herpetic neuralgia is a type of ailment that arises after a virus attack. The virus is called shingles which mainly affects the nerves. The shingles cause severe pain on the nerves and this pain can linger even long after the shingles have been cured. In a certain study, 40 percent of patients diagnosed with post-herpetic neuralgia experienced some level of longstanding benefit from acupuncture therapy. There are a wide range of pains and aches that are usually categorized as neuralgic. A lot of them manifest as facial pain and most of them result in extreme discomfort. For long lasting and truly effective relief from this type of pain, it is always worthwhile to consider acupuncture treatment.