5 Conditions that Benefit from Moxibustion Treatment
What is Moxibustion?
Moxibustion is an external heat therapy used in East Asian Medicine. It is administered by burning moxa wool on acupuncture points and certain areas of the body to unblock meridians and regulate the flow of qi and blood, aiding in disease prevention and treatment. The earliest recorded mention of moxibustion dates back to 581 B.C. in Zuo Zhuan, a recording of discussions on disease from the pre-Qin dynasty. Moxibustion is considered a well-established and widely practiced therapeutic method. A broad survey of papers from 1954 to 2007 in China showed that up to 364 diseases can be treated with moxibustion. (Deng & Shen, 2013)
In modern times, there are a multitude of ways moxibustion can be safely administered indirectly such as pole, tiger warmers, ibuki stick-on moxa as well as the use of moxa boxes or wands. Moxibustion is not as popular in the United States because of the smoke that it produces during treatment. Oftentimes, practitioners use substitutes such as smokeless or charcoal versions that do not have the same properties as real moxibustion.
Here are some conditions that can greatly benefit from moxibustion treatment along with acupuncture
Knee Osteoarthritis (KOA) is one of the most common joint diseases world wide with a high rate of disability. Treatment for KOA is focused on reducing pain, increasing mobility and slowing down the degradation of the joint. In Asian countries KOA is commonly treated with moxibustion. In 2022 Yin et. al conducted an overview of systemic reviews for the treatment of KOA with moxibustion. This overview included ten system reviews and fifty-seven randomized control trials of over five thousand patients showing that moxibustion was effective in the treatment of KOA. Kim et. al’s 2014 multi-center randomized control trial compared moxibustion to usual care. The results of the study showed that could improve pain, function and quality of life.
Irritable Bowl Syndrome - Diarrhea (IBS-D). A 2016 systemic review and meta-analysis of the use of moxibustion for diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome. The review concluded that moxibustion appears to be more effective for treating symptoms such as abdominal pain and loose bowel movements than pharmacological medications used. (Tang, et. al)
Low immunity - This can show up as low white blood cell (WBC) counts and/or higher neutrophil levels. This is common in those with autoimmune conditions, cancers, chemotherapy. A 2021 randomized control trial looked at the efficacy of moxibustion for breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Patients that received moxibustion after chemotherapy had much higher WBC than those in the study who did not receive moxibustion treatments. Absolute neutrophil counts (ANC) were also much lower in the group that received moxibustion. This study concluded that moxibustion treatment can treat (Ji et. al) chemotherapy induced myelosuppression.
Frozen Shoulder is caused by the gradual loss of movement and range of motion in the shoulder. It can be caused by inflammation in the capsule of the joint and surrounding tissues. A 2019 study (Gao et. al) compared acupuncture and intensive moxibustion with acupuncture alone for the treatment of frozen shoulder. While both groups benefited from treatment, the group that received intensive moxibustion showed higher rates of improvement of symptoms. A 2019 systemic review (Han et. al) looked at 22 randomized control trials on moxibustion for frozen shoulder showed that it improved the condition overall. Four of the studies examined compared moxibustion to electroacupuncture, showing that moxibustion was more effective.
Breech Baby Position A review of eight research trials for the use of moxibustion for breech position, (Coyle 2012, et al.) involving 1346 women, showing that moxibustion led to a decrease in the use of oxytocin before or during labor for women who had vaginal deliveries compared to no treatment. Moxibustion with acupuncture was also found to result in fewer non-cephalic presentations at birth when compared to acupuncture alone. Combining moxibustion with acupuncture also resulted in fewer non-cephalic presentations at birth and a reduced rate of caesarean section births, when compared to no treatment. When moxibustion was combined with a postural technique, it showed a significant reduction in non-cephalic presentations at birth compared to the postural technique alone.
Written by Dr. Emily Siy, DACM on 5/12/25, published on 6/23/25
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You might also be interested in reading: All About Moxibustion, Knee Case Series Comparison, Chinese Medicine and Plantar Fasciitis
Sources:
Coyle ME, Smith CA, Peat B. (2012) Cephalic version by moxibustion for breech presentation. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. May 16;(5):CD003928
Deng H, Shen X. (2013) The mechanism of moxibustion: ancient theory and modern research. Evidence Based Complementary Alternate Medicine. 2013:379291. Epub 2013 Sep 12. PMID: 24159344
Gao, L., Li, X., Wang, DB., Du, ML., Xie, J., Gao, XY. (2019) Clinical trial of treatment of frozen shoulder by intensive moxibustion plus acupuncture Zhen ci yan jiu = Acupuncture Research April 44(4):297-30
Han, S-H., Lee, G-E., Byun, D-Y., Kim, Y-I., Kim, M-K., Min, B-K., Lim, H-B., Jeong, Y-J., Oh, M-S. (2019) A Systematic Review of Moxibustion for Frozen Shoulder Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation Vol. 29 No. 3, July pISSN 1229-1854 eISSN 2288-4114
Ji, Y., Li, S, Zhang, X., Li, Q., Lu, Q., Chen, W., Liu, Y., Sheng, J., Liang, H., Jiang, K., Li, M., Sha, S., Wu, H., Huang, Y., Xue, X. (2021) The Efficacy of Moxibustion for Breast Cancer Patients with Chemotherapy-Induced Myelosuppression during Adjuvant Chemotherapy: A Randomized Controlled Study Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Special issue Herbal Medicine for Prevention and Therapy in Breast Cancer April 26
Kim, T-H., Kim, KH., Kang, JW., Lee, MH, Kang, K-W., Kim, JE., Kim, J-H., Lee, S., Shin, M-S., Jung, S-Y., Kim, A-R., Park, H-J., Jung, H-J., Song, H., Kim, H, Choi, J-B., Hong, K., Choi, S-M. (2014) Moxibustion Treatment for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Multi-Centre, Non-Blinded, Randomised Controlled Trial on the Effectiveness and Safety of the Moxibustion Treatment versus Usual Care in Knee Osteoarthritis Patients PLOS ONE July 25
Tang, B., Zhang, J., Yang, Z., Lu, Y., Xu, Q., Chen, X., Lin, J. (2016) Moxibustion for Diarrhea-Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Special issue Complementary and Alternative Therapies for Functional Gastrointestinal Diseases May 16
Yin, S., Zhu, F., Li, Z., Che, D., Li, L., Feng, J., Zhang, L., Huo, Z (2022) An Overview of Systematic Reviews of Moxibustion for Knee Osteoarthritis Frontiers in Physiology, 02 February 2022 Sec. Clinical and Translational Physiology