A small randomised, controlled study to assess the effect of individualised moxibustion and acupuncture for IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), has concluded that it shows promise as a treatment. Twenty-nine IBS patients were randomised to receive either real treatment, or sham treatment as a control.
After four weeks of treatment twice-weekly, the acupuncture group experienced significant improvements in average daily abdominal pain, intestinal gas, bloating and stool consistency, whereas the control group showed minimal improvement.
(Symptom Management for Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial of Acupuncture/Moxibustion. Gastroenterol Nurs. 2009 July-August.)
Robin’s note: The term “moxibustion” refers to the burning of a Chinese herb called moxa, on or near to specific acupuncture points to warm them.
Author: Robin Costello
I offer traditional Chinese acupuncture in Exeter, from a tranquil clinic a mile from the city centre, and next to the University of Exeter. I graduated originally from the London School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine’s 3 year full time Acupuncture Diploma (DipAc) course. I am on the practitioners register of the British Acupuncture Council (MBAcC), a regulatory and professional body with an entry standard of a full three year undergraduate degree level training.
I have worked in a hospital in south west China, deepening my knowledge and using acupuncture and Chinese massage (tuina) as the treatment of choice in its country of origin. I have taught Chinese medicine in colleges, the NHS and at university level. I also practise Qi Gong, and Chinese dietary therapy, that is the medicinal use of ordinary foods, chosen to help achieve particular therapeutic effects in different individuals.
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