Cold and flu season is a worldwide phenomenon, so it’s no surprise that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has cold-weather wellness practices, just as Western medicine does. Just like Western medicine, TCM treats winter illness with a combination of prevention and symptom management.
Dr. Ziyang Zhou, L.Ac.of Pine Mountain Chinese Acupuncture & Herb Clinic in Austin, Texas, often recommends two TCM treatments for cold and flu alongside acupuncture to help you cope with the challenges of cooler weather. Moxibustion and cupping can help your overall winter wellness plan.
Often used as a complementary therapy alongside acupuncture, moxibustion is simply the burning of dried and ground mugwort plants. Formed into cones or sticks similar to incense, these end products are called moxa.
Burning moxa at certain strategic points in your body contributes to strengthening of the immune system as well as your overall well-being. The effects of moxibustion travel through the 12 meridians that carry energy throughout the body, according to TCM.
Moxa may be burned directly, in contact with your skin, or indirectly, such as on the top end of an acupuncture needle. You’ll feel warmth, but moxa is removed before it reaches a point that it will burn you.
An ancient treatment that’s primarily used to address pain, cupping also improves local blood flow, encouraging muscle relaxation and soft tissue healing. Cups are placed, again in strategic locations depending on the ailment or illness being treated, before applying suction to the cups to draw tissue and stimulate circulation.
Depending on the application, cupping draws blood to the treatment location or away from other locations in the body. Though the mechanisms of healing produced by cupping aren’t fully understood, the creation of micro injuries to tiny blood vessels called capillaries creates a local healing process to restore and improve blood supply.
Dry cupping uses heat or suction to create a vacuum within the cup that draws tissue upward. Dr. Zhou may apply oil or lotion on your skin first for another technique called running cupping, where the cups, still under suction, are moved from place to place in the treatment area.
Dr. Zhou may use as many as seven cups during a single treatment, most often using glass or plastic cups, but these can be made from other materials as well, including silicone, ceramic, metal, or bamboo.
Cupping is a low-risk therapy that won’t interfere with most other treatments. Though painless, you may experience localized bruising and slight soreness, and your skin may feel tight during treatment.
Find out more about how moxibustion and cupping therapy can help prevent and treat common cool-season conditions and illness by contacting Pine Mountain Chinese Acupuncture & Herb Clinic. Book your consultation online or by phone today.
