“Acupmoxa” is a hybrid word of “acupuncture” and “moxibustion” that more closely resembles the Chinese ideograph for this treatment. Acupuncture describes a procedure involving penetration of skin areas (acupoints) by thin metallic needles, which is followed by manipulating the needles manually. Moxibustion describes a technique that applies heat to acupoints by burning compressed powdered herbal material at the acupoints to be stimulated. Acupuncture or moxibustion, either alone or in combination, can be applied when treating patients with a wide range of diseases [1]. In 1980, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended acupuncture as an effective treatment for forty-three health problems, including respiratory tract disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, eye disorders, and neuromuscular disorders [2]. People in the Western countries are more familiar with acupuncture; in contrast, moxibustion has remained less popular, perhaps partially due to the paucity of relevant scientific studies. In contrast to the development of Western medicine, which can be traced back to Hippocrates via a clear and distinct route, Chinese acupmoxa theory was already fully developed by the end of the 2nd century BCE. In 1972, documents written on silk scrolls in a Ma-Wang-Dui tomb sealed in 198 BCE were discovered in China. This discovery included documents that only relate to moxibustion and do not include any references to acupuncture or acupoints. The documents refer to eleven lines of channel (meridians), which suggests that the origins of moxibustion and of meridians are earlier than those of acupuncture and acupoints [3].
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 05:05:24 +0000
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