Precision Acupuncture Clinic

Moxibustion and TDP Lamp   

        The following is a personal understanding at our Precision Acupuncture Clinic, and we use moxibustion and TDP lamp either individually or combinational for treatment dependent on various clinical conditions.  

Moxibustion

        As an ancient method, moxibustion was created in China with a similar or even longer history compared to acupuncture. As a result, in China, these two TCM approaches are named together as acupuncture and moxibustion. In essence, moxibustion is a heat treatment. 

        Moxa (prepared from the leaves of Artemisia vulgaris)   

        The leaves of Artemisia vulgaris are a Chinese herbal medicine and can warm acupuncture meridians and expel the cold. One feature of moxa is its ability to provide warmth instead of harsh burning, and such warmth can penetrate deeper tissues under the skin. 
        After many years of clinical practice, the moxa produced by Qi Chun, Hubei, is considered to have the best quality due to its higher contents of effective substances, higher heat-generating efficiency, and deeper heat penetration. Notably, Xing Zhou moxa also has a higher content of certain trace elements, such as Mn and Ni, and macroelements, such as Mg and Ca, in addition to other trace elements including Zn, Fe, and Se. Those elements exist and perform important functions in the human body. This is probably attributed to the local soil and weather conditions that are more appropriate for the culture of Artemisia vulgaris.  
        Finally, moxa made from the leaves of Artemisia vulgaris that have been stored for three years is preferred because its burning generates effective yet moderate warm heating, which can provide a safer warming process without drying the tissue fluid.  

        Electromagnetic radiation from regular moxibustion  

        Visible light, infrared, and microwaves belong to non-ionizing (do not ionize atoms or break chemical bonds) electromagnetic radiation (EMR), and their photons collectively transfer carried energy primarily into a heating effect on living tissue. As a form of EMR, thermal radiation transfers heat without direct contact (conduction) or a medium such as air or water (convection). For example, a human body of 37 degrees Celsius has a thermal radiation of infrared wave length.
        Moxa can reach over 500 degrees Celsius during burning, which can generate thermal radiation of 1.5 ~ 14 micrometers, mainly in the mid-infrared range (3 ~ 25 micrometers) with a peak wavelength of around 3.74 micrometers and a secondary peak wavelength of around 9 micrometers. Notably, a 15-micrometer wavelength can penetrate tissue to a depth of around 3.8 cm. Research shows that skin surface temperature reaches about 40 degrees Celcius during a regular, safe moxibustion process.                                             

        Heat conduction from warm needling  

       Therapeutic effects of moxibustion  

        Moxibustion carries out therapeutic effects by heating acupoints (3.8 cm depth in regular moxibustion and 6 cm in warm needling). Such heating may have the following effects:
                1) warm local tissue and expel the cold;
                2) heating to activate local molecules, cells, and fluid (blood and tissue fluid) flow, which in turn may help promote local immune response and tissue repair from inflammation and injuries;
                 3) heating to clear local meridian pathways, which in turn may affect the function of the distal area (tissue and organs) along meridians.
        Accordingly, moxibustion can be used to treat a variety of clinical conditions that have the following features: 
                  1) symptoms due to cold blockage;
                  2) tissue or organ dysfunctions that can benefit from increased local blood and tissue fluid circulation.           
        Finally, the use of moxibustion can promote optimized health by activating blood and tissue fluid circulation in which molecules and cells are activated to provide the needed nutrients and immune surveillance.                                                     

TDP Lamp

        In 1979, a Chinese senior engineer called Wenbin Gou invented TDP lamp, which refers to Teding Diancibo Pu lamp, the lamp that radiates a specific range of electromagnetic wave. TDP lamp has a special plate that contains over 30 kinds of elements; the latter exists in human cells. Thus, TDP lamp gives out thermal radiation that can effectively activate the molecules of human cells. 
        As indicated by its name, the TDP lamp releases a mid-infrared range wave of 2 ~ 25 micrometers, which is a similar range compared to the spectrum released by moxibustion. Thus, the TDP lamp has therapeutic effects similar to regular moxibustion as both use thermal radiation in a similar wavelength range. That being said, the TDP lamp heats up a much wider area than regular moxibustion with a moxa stick, which focuses on an acupoint.