Preface

Heat-sensitized moxibustion (HSM) is a new therapy with better curative effect which applies suspended moxibustion on heat-sensitized points, using burning moxa. Personalized saturated amount of moxibustion to get rid of sensitization is given to stimulate the transmission of channel qi and the heat sensitization feelings,including penetrating heat, expanding heat, transmitting heat, distal but not local heat, deep but not superficial heat, as well as none-heat sensation.

Over thirty-two years have passed since the research on HSM began. The research started from phenomenon observation to rules summarization and curative effect evaluation, and further new concepts were formed, which in turn serve as a guide in clinic for moxibustion therapy to enhance its curative effect. Heat sensitization of acupoints and its rules were first discovered, revealing the new concept of sensitized state of acupoints, which leads to a breakthrough of the traditional understanding of acupoints. The HSM technology was established,making the following two problems solved, namely the difficulty of accurate location of acupoints and of accurate amount of moxibustion in a personalized and scientific way. The HSM has been applied on more than twenty diseases and curative effects have been enhanced greatly,providing a new endogenous way to treat diseases by heat sensitization methods. Both the HSM and the traditional suspended moxibustion belong to suspended moxibustion, but they differ in their natures in the following aspects. Firstly, the moxibustion sensations are different. The moxibustion sensation refers to the feeling felt by a patient during the treatment. For traditional suspended moxibustion, the heat sensation is natural because heat is produced by moxa, influencing the body surface. As we know,the essence of acupuncture therapy is revealed in the following saying,“The essence of acupuncture lies in the arrival of qi because it ensures the curative effect.” [1] This means to activate the channel qi and make qi arrive at the affected area are very important. It is also the same for HSM. HSM emphasizes much on the transmission of the channel qi and the six sensations of HSM, including penetrating heat, expanding heat,transmitting heat, distal but not local heat, deep but not superficial heat,as well as none-heat sensation, and it also emphasizes a lot on the arrival of qi at the affected area, while the traditional suspended moxibustion only produces heat sensation at the local body surface. Secondly, the sites where moxibustion is applied are different. The HSM aims at the heat sensitized acupoints, which are extraordinarily sensitive to the moxa heat, making transmission of channel qi much easier to realize. In another word, the HSM produces big reaction by small stimulation. While to the contrary, the transmission of channel qi is rare to see in case of traditional suspended moxibustion, because there is no need to select the heat sensitized acupoint which is better for the curative effect in traditional suspended moxibustion as it is unknown that an acupoint could have two different states, namely sensitized state and tranquilized state. Thirdly,the dosages of moxibustion are different. The dosage of moxibustion refers to the effective dosage for each moxibustion treatment. It consists of three factors, namely the intensity, area and time of moxibustion. If the intensity and area remain the same, then the dosage of moxibustion is determined by the time. In the application of the HSM, fixed amount of time on each acupoint is not required but to the contrary the amount of time differs depending on individuals, diseases and the acupoints.In fact, the HSM will be stopped when the heat sensitized sensation disappears, which is quite personalized. This is called the saturated amount of moxibustion to get rid of sensitization, which is also the best personalized amount of moxibustion. While the dosage of moxibustion for ordinary mild moxibustion is ten to fifteen minutes on each acupoint,and it can also be determined by the time when the local skin flushes.These, however, usually fail to reach the optimal individualized amount.Fourthly, the curative effects are different. According to the research in the past thirty-two years, the curative effect of the HSM is much better than that of the ordinary mild moxibustion, because it meets the need advocated by the ancient people, “the arrival of qi is of vital importance in ensuring the curative effect.”[2] The HSM is particularly effective to the following diseases, namely bronchial asthma, allergic rhinitis, functional dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome, functional constipation, primary dysmenorrhea, chronic pelvic inflammation, impotence, facial paralysis,cervical spondylosis, prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc, osteoarthritis of knees, myofascial pain syndromes and so on.

The HSM technology was first popularized and applied in Jiangxi Province in 2002, and then nationwide in 2005. It is characterized by its safety, efficacy, noninvasiveness, few toxic side effect, cheap cost and effectiveness in stimulating the endogenous mechanism of human body to fight against diseases.

Practicality and easy understanding are the features of this book,making it suitable for the medical staff, postgraduates and undergraduates in fields of clinical acupuncture and health care as well as research.

This book is composed of five chapters. The first chapter is on theories, introducing ten concepts in form of Q&A. These ten concepts are the gains in depth of comprehension and serve as the guideline for the clinical application of the HSM. The second chapter is about manipulation. It introduces briefly to the readers the following eight aspect, namely the way to explore the heat-sensitized acupoints in clinic,the principle for acupoint selection, the method to apply moxibustion,the dosage of moxibustion, the process of manipulation, indications and contraindications of the HSM, as well as the sixteen-character technological essentials of the HSM. All of them are crucial in ensuring and enhancing the curative effect of the HSM. The third chapter is about the HSM sensations on commonly used acupoints, concisely introducing the types of sensations on 44 acupoints commonly used in HSM, which is convenient for beginners to identify and use. The fourth chapter is about treatment, focusing on the twenty-seven diseases the author has personally experienced in clinic, covering the commonly encountered diseases and the difficult and complicated ones. The names of diseases are in accordance with those of the modern (Western) medicine. What’s more, each disease is described from the following four aspects of clinical manifestation, treatment method, successful case and expert’s comment.The fifth chapter is about health care, focusing on the fifteen health care projects with definite effect. Each project is introduced from the following five aspects of health care object, self judgement, health care method, successful case and expert’s comment.

All academic discussions are welcome concerning this book by the author.