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Treating face paralysis by traditional Chinese medicine (photo story)

Traditional Chinese Medicine believe that face paralysis is caused by cold air freezing the Qi (life force) and blood that normally flow freely in the face. Meanwhile, western medicine diagnoses the condition as a viral infection that attacks the nerves in the face. TCM doctors treat patients with acupunture, as well as a ranged of other natural treatments. While they may look a bit unorthodox, many patients regain use of their facial muscles after several visits.

A walnut is placed on a patient’s eye and ignited dry moxa leaves in his ears during a traditional Chinese medical treatment for curing facial paralysis,at a hospital in Jinan, the capital of eastern China’s Shandong province. (Reuters)

A patient receives traditional Chinese medical treatment at a hospital in Jinan, China.

A patient receives traditional Chinese medical treatment at a hospital in Jinan,capital of eastern China’s Shandong province. Traditional Chinese Medicine viewsfacial paralysis as a deficiency of vital Qi, similar to deficiency in the immune system,resulting in an invasion of exogenous pathogenic factors and obstruction of channels and collaterals.

A doctor prepares traditional Chinese medical treatment at a hospital in Jinan, China.Facial paralysis often occurs in the summertime, which traditional Chinese medicineattributes to the fact that people leave their windows open at night to stay cool.However, TCM explaines that the cold air freezes the Qi and blood so they no longer can convey emotion with the face.

Patients place red bands across their eyes and ignited dry moxa leavesin theirears during a traditional Chinese medical treatment for curing facial cramps,at a hospital in Jinan, China.

A walnut is placed on a patient’s eye and dry moxa leavesare ignitedin his ears during a traditional Chinese medical treatment for curingfacial paralysis, at a hospital in Jinan, China.(All captions by Reuters)

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Constipation gets relief from moxibustion

CM NEWS - A special form of acupoint treatment can help push your bowel without needing you to take any medication, a recent study finds.

To test the therapeutic effect, safety of acupoint application for treatment of constipation, scientists of the First Hospital of Guangzhou University of TCM in China used a special form of acupoint treatment called herbs-partitioned moxibustion (隔藥灸).

42 cases were randomly divided into a treatment group of 22 cases and a control group of 20 cases.

In herbs-partitioned moxibustion, a small “cake” made up of herbs was placed on the specific acupoints and was lit up.

In this study, the special herbal cake was made with Sanleng (三棱, Rhizoma Spargani), Ezhu (莪朮, Rhizoma Zedoariae), Dahuang (大黃, Radix et Rhizoma Rhei) and Bingpian (冰片, Borneolum). The cake was then applied at acupoints Tianshu (天樞穴, ST 25), Qihai (氣海穴, CV 6), Guanyuan (關元穴 CV 4).

The control group were treated with oral administration of Congrong Tongbian Oral Liquid (蓯蓉通便口服液), a laxative that can be bought over the counter.

Acupoint Tianshu has been clinically proven to be effective in dealing with constipation for centuries. In combination with other adjuvant points as indicated by symptom differentiation, are very effective in the treatment of diseases of the digestive system.

Acupoint Qihai has been involved in treating back pain, overly frequent urination at night, and some gynecological conditions.

Acupoint Guangyuan is said to be effective in treating urological diseases, erectile dysfunction, menstrual cramps etc. It’s also involved in treating insomnia and panic disorder.

What is moxibustion? Practitioners use moxa, or mugwort herb, to warm regions and acupuncture points with the intention of stimulating circulation through the points and inducing a smoother flow of blood and qi.

Medical historians believe that moxibustion pre-dated acupuncture, and needling came to supplement moxa after the 2nd century BC. Different schools of acupuncture use moxa in varying degrees. For example a 5-element acupuncturist will use moxa directly on the skin, whilst a TCM-style practitioner will use rolls of moxa and hold them over the point treated. It can also be burnt atop a fine slice of ginger root to prevent scarring.

There are two types of moxibustion: direct and indirect. In direct moxibustion, a small, cone-shaped amount of moxa is placed on top of an acupuncture point and burned. This type of moxibustion is further categorized into two types: scarring and non-scarring. With scarring moxibustion, the moxa is placed on a point, ignited, and allowed to remain onto the point until it burns out completely. This may lead to localized scarring, blisters and scarring after healing.

With non-scarring moxibustion, the moxa is placed on the point and lit, but is extinguished or removed before it burns the skin. The patient will experience a pleasant heating sensation that penetrates deep into the skin, but should not experience any pain, blistering or scarring unless the moxa is left in place for too long.

Indirect moxibustion is currently the more popular form of care because there is a much lower risk of pain or burning. In indirect moxibustion, a practitioner lights one end of a moxa stick, roughly the shape and size of a cigar, and holds it close to the area being treated for several minutes until the area turns red. Another form of indirect moxibustion uses both acupuncture needles and moxa. A needle is inserted into an acupoint and retained. The tip of the needle is then wrapped in moxa and ignited, generating heat to the point and the surrounding area. After the desired effect is achieved, the moxa is extinguished and the needle(s) removed.

In the present study, a herbal cake was applied on the acupoints instead of moxa. This practice is also called herbs-partitioned moxibustion (隔藥灸).

The results were very positive for the moxibustion group. The total effective rate was 81.8% in the treatment group and 50.0% in the control group, the treatment group being better than the control group (P < 0.05).

Patients in the treatment group made their first bowel movement 5.1 hours +/- 2.8 hours after treatment, whereas the first defecation time for the control group was 10.1 hours +/- 7.3 hours after treatment.

The scientists then conclude that TCM acupoint application therapy has a definite therapeutic effect on constipation.

[Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2007 Mar;27(3):189-90.]

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