Is moxibustion effective in treating dysmenorrhea?

Moxibustion is a method that many women choose to treat dysmenorrhea, but it should be reminded that when choosing moxibustion to treat dysmenorrhea, you must understand the correct moxibustion points and methods, and you must not proceed blindly to avoid causing other harm to your health.

1. When women experience lower abdominal pain during or before menstruation, which may be severe and unbearable, it is called dysmenorrhea. Dysmenorrhea is caused by violent contractions and spasms of the uterine smooth muscle. Initially there are symptoms such as bloating, tightness, fear of cold, heaviness, and dull pain in the lower abdomen, followed by paroxysmal severe lower abdominal pain, and even nausea, vomiting, and chills. Moxibustion is used to treat dysmenorrhea, mainly for dysmenorrhea caused by no organic lesions in women's reproductive organs. Before treatment, a clear diagnosis must be made first, and then symptomatic treatment should be given. Accurately select the main acupoints and auxiliary acupoints according to the meridian course, and then apply moxibustion.

2. Main acupoints:

Guanyuan is located 3 inches below the navel, on the midline of the abdomen. Lie on your back to locate the acupoint. To locate the acupoint, you can lie on your back. Guanyuan acupoint is located in the lower abdomen, on the anterior midline. Draw a line from the navel to the top of the pubic bone, divide the line into five equal parts, and the acupoint is located three-fifths of the way down from the navel. Qihai is located on the midline of the lower abdomen, 1.5 inches below the navel. Sanyinjiao is located on the inner side of the calf, 3 inches above the tip of the inner ankle, behind the inner edge of the tibia; sit upright with knees bent at a right angle to locate the acupoint.

3. Acupuncture points:

Ci Liao, Zhong Liao, Tian Shu, Gui Lai, Qu Gu.

During treatment, the patient first chooses a supine position, lights the moxa stick, and smokes it in the air about 2 cm away from the acupuncture point until a burning sensation is felt on the local skin. Then change to prone position and use the same method to moxibustion the Ci Liao or Zhong Liao points on the back. Do this once a day. When selecting acupoints, generally the main acupoints are used every day. However, 2 to 3 acupoints can be selected and rotated every day. The treatment time is generally started a few days before the menstruation and ends a few days after the menstruation is over.

4. Moxibustion for dysmenorrhea adjusts the body's functions through the unique smell and warm stimulation of moxa leaves, thereby achieving the purpose of relieving reflex spasms of uterine muscles, relieving spasms, promoting blood circulation, and relieving pain. This is what Chinese medicine means by “If the blockage is unobstructed, there will be no pain; if there is pain, there is