What is moxibustion?
What benefits does moxibustion have for the rehabilitation of tumor patients?
Moxibustion is an important and suitable technology in traditional Chinese medicine. With the help of the heat energy generated by the burning of moxa, it is transmitted to all meridians of the human body, which has the effects of warming meridians and dredging collaterals, tonifying middle warmer and benefiting qi, and has a good effect on regulating immunity, warming meridians and dispelling cold, strengthening the body resistance and eliminating evil spirits. Cancer patients often suffer from deficiency of both yin and yang and deficiency of both qi and blood after radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The side effects caused by radiotherapy and chemotherapy, such as gastrointestinal reaction and low immunity, seriously affect the therapeutic effect of tumors. Moxibustion therapy has a significant effect on cancer-related fatigue, gastrointestinal reaction, low immunity and bone marrow suppression.
1. Treating cancer-related fatigue
Cancer-related fatigue is one of the common symptoms of tumor patients and a painful subjective fatigue. It can't be relieved after rest, which is common in patients with radiotherapy and chemotherapy, seriously affecting their quality of life. Moxibustion is one of the more effective auxiliary methods in the treatment of cancer-related fatigue in non-drug therapy, which can effectively improve the symptoms of cancer-related fatigue, improve the treatment compliance and quality of life of patients, such as common symptoms such as insomnia, anxiety, depression, shortness of breath, fatigue, mental fatigue, spontaneous sweating, lazy talk and so on.
2. Reduce gastrointestinal reactions
Chemotherapy is a common method to treat tumors, but it also affects the metabolism of normal cells, damages the gastrointestinal mucosa of patients, causes gastrointestinal dysfunction, causes gastrointestinal adverse reactions such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and constipation, and even affects the chemotherapy process. Moxibustion has the functions of dredging meridians, promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, and invigorating qi and blood through the warming effect of specific acupoints in the body, thus restoring the gastrointestinal function of patients.
3. Enhance immunity and reduce bone marrow suppression.
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that "healthy qi exists inside, and evil cannot be done." The so-called "healthy qi" is what modern people call immunity, and "evil" refers to various pathogenic factors. The body with low immunity is prone to infection or cancer, which is not conducive to cancer rehabilitation. Enhancing immunity is a common clinical treatment. Studies have shown that the immune function of tumor patients is generally low, and the levels of CD3 and CD4 are low. Moxibustion can effectively increase the conversion rate of CD3 and CD4, improve some immune functions of patients, stabilize the count of white blood cells and neutrophils after chemotherapy, and reduce the degree of bone marrow suppression.
4. Prevention and treatment of peripheral neurotoxicity caused by chemotherapy drugs
Peripheral neurotoxicity caused by chemotherapy is a common adverse reaction caused by chemotherapy drugs, which seriously affects the quality of life of patients, mainly manifested in the feeling at the ends of limbs, usually abnormal, insensitive, painful, numb, myasthenia and dysfunction of hands and feet. Moxibustion warming yang, promoting blood circulation and dredging collaterals can effectively alleviate the peripheral neurotoxicity of patients.
Moxibustion is a very effective traditional Chinese medicine characteristic therapy for warming and nourishing yang qi. Besides the application of tumor rehabilitation, moxibustion also plays an important role in pain, insomnia, disease prevention and health care. It is believed that with the deepening of scientific research, moxibustion will benefit cancer patients more.
This article guides experts.
Wu Xiaodong
Cancer Hospital Affiliated to Guangzhou Medical University
Director, Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine (Five Areas of Internal Medicine)
Chief physician and master tutor
Guangdong famous old TCM doctor, state administration of traditional chinese medicine national outstanding TCM clinical talents, Guangzhou Chinese Medicine Association outstanding TCM doctor, Guangdong famous TCM tutor, Lingnan medical record expert, and discipline leader of Guangzhou "13th Five-Year Plan" key TCM specialty (special disease) construction project.
He has been engaged in clinical research on tumors of traditional Chinese medicine and integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine for more than 30 years, and has rich clinical experience in improving tumor treatment effect by TCM syndrome differentiation, treatment principles, prescriptions and drugs. According to the treatment methods of western medicine, such as surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, we should deepen the treatment based on syndrome differentiation, use traditional Chinese medicine to enhance efficiency and reduce toxicity, improve the quality of life, prolong the survival period, and achieve the best effect of comprehensive treatment of cancer. In addition, there are many studies on the rehabilitation of tumor patients and the inhibition of tumor recurrence and metastasis.
Source | Five fields of internal medicine
Contributed by hanling.