Acupuncture, Massage, Moxa, Kampo

[craftsman]

I recall reading a piece of research by Tsukuba College of Technology clinic in 2001 that only 6.7% of Japanese people had used acupuncture in the preceding year.

I was therefore wondering if anyone had tried traditional Japanese acupuncture, but also massage, moxibustion or herbal kampo medicine, seeing as so few Japanese have.

 

[Glenn]

No, but I was just thinking of getting a massage, as I could really use one.

Moxibustion I'm assuming is 灸 (kyuu). That's using needles and incense, right? sort of a accupuncture fused with incense practice?

 

[undrentide]

窶ｹ窶 (kyuu) indeed is used with acupuncture (called ﾃｨIﾂ／ﾂ針 hari), but not ncessarily.
窶堋ｨ窶ｹ窶 itself is used to stimulate ﾂ"tsubo" (don't know what it is called in English ).
Traditional 窶ｹ窶 is not incense, it's something that look like fur on the tansy (yomogi in Japanese). It's burnt on the skin, and can be very hot, recently there are products which is not so hot and more handy to use.

Okyuu is good for your health, but because it's extremely hot it was used as a punishment for naughty children in the past.
We still have a phrase 窶堋ｨ窶ｹ窶樞?堙ｰ窶堋ｷ窶堋ｦ窶堙ｩ which means "to punish".


My mother tried kyuu sometime ago, and I tried it myself, out of curiosity, and it was not too bad. It helped blood circulation.
http://www.sennenq.co.jp/Pages/products/moxa_top.html

Massage is great, especially someone like me who is stuck to computer almost all day long.

 

[Glenn]

I think tsubo (壺、ですね？) is normally called a "pressure point." However, that doesn't do well to capture the healing properties of these points, so it looks like "therapeutic point" is more appropriate (I just got that from EXCEED ).

So, they burn it on the skin, eh? Sounds scary, but I guess I'll take your word for it. Thanks for the information!

 

[undrentide]

Thank you for the English expression for "tsubo".
Some kind of small pad is used for modern 窶ｹ窶 to prevent burning your skin, so don't worry!
And I do recommend you to have a go with massage - it's so relaxing.

 

[Glenn]

I'm sure; it's just the expense that I'm worried about. Is that covered by the nation health insurance plan? Hmm...

 

[epigene]

I haven't had "kyuu" because I'm too lazy to venture and seek out an acupuncturist (though I see quite a few such clinics in town). But I had a friend who paid regular visits for relief.

Traditional massage, yes, because my mom was good at it. But, I've never "paid" for such services.

Moxa--the last time I saw it was on my own grandma and I helped her burn the herb.

I have a kampo expert for a friend and get kampo herbal medicine to treat various ailments I've had in the past. My husband is a regular "Taisho Kampo Ichoyaku" user.

 

[craftsman]

Moxa--the last time I saw it was on my own grandma and I helped her burn the herb.

My wife once told me a huge sore on the back of her grandmother's shoulder which was due to her doctor burning moxa repeatedly at the same spot over and over. This wasn't the same with your grandmother was it?

窶ｹ窶 (kyuu) indeed is used with acupuncture (called ﾃｨIﾂ／ﾂ針 hari), but not ncessarily.
窶堋ｨ窶ｹ窶 itself is used to stimulate ﾂ"tsubo" (don't know what it is called in English ).
Traditional 窶ｹ窶 is not incense, it's something that look like fur on the tansy (yomogi in Japanese). It's burnt on the skin, and can be very hot, recently there are products which is not so hot and more handy to use.
Okyuu is good for your health, but because it's extremely hot it was used as a punishment for naughty children in the past.
We still have a phrase 窶堋ｨ窶ｹ窶樞?堙ｰ窶堋ｷ窶堋ｦ窶堙ｩ which means "to punish".

My mother tried kyuu sometime ago, and I tried it myself, out of curiosity, and it was not too bad. It helped blood circulation.
http://www.sennenq.co.jp/Pages/products/moxa_top.html
Massage is great, especially someone like me who is stuck to computer almost all day long.

undrentide, for someone who has only tried it once out of curiosity you have a very good knowledge of acupuncture and moxa. Why do you think not many Japanese people use it?

I'm sure; it's just the expense that I'm worried about. Is that covered by the nation health insurance plan? Hmm...

I think it's something like 4000 to 7000 yen a time in Tokyo, I believe.

Some kind of small pad is used for modern 窶ｹ窶 to prevent burning your skin, so don't worry!

Yes, I think so too - however - with the small okyu called names like 'thread moxa', 'sesame size', 'half grain size' and 'rice grain size' - they are burnt straight on to the skin and have a sharp sting when they burn down. So if it is any of these - maybe time to worry!

 

[undrentide]

undrentide, for someone who has only tried it once out of curiosity you have a very good knowledge of acupuncture and moxa. Why do you think not many Japanese people use it?!

Yes, I think so too - however - with the small okyu called names like 'thread moxa', 'sesame size', 'half grain size' and 'rice grain size' - they are burnt straight on to the skin and have a sharp sting when they burn down. So if it is any of these - maybe time to worry!

Well, if I have more knowledge than average about those things, that's because my mother once was interested in those stuff years ago and got treatment at ﾃｨI窶ｹ窶樞?ｰ@ (where they can do both), read magazines about them plus ﾅ?ﾂｿ窶｢ﾃｻ窶禿ｲ kanpo medicine and poured all the info into my ears.

The reason not many poeple use acupuncture (including myself) could be, I assume, that it is more expensive than massage (I don't know if there are places where you can get them under the health insurance), and many people don't like the idea of getting the needle into one's body, especially where the important nerve systems are.


As for 窶ｹ窶? I don't know how popular it is - the one i've tried myself is not at a clinic or anything (so maybe it is not authentic), but at home. There are something easy like "sen'nen kyu" which is not so scary available. You can buy them at chemist at less than JPY1,000 a packet. I sometime see its CM on TV.
http://www.sennenq.co.jp/Pages/products/off_top.html

It was mild, just left a small red dot on my skin for a little while.
And another good thing to do it at home is when you feel it too hot, you can stop it anytime.
(According to the website, now the "o-kyuu without fire" is also available.)

 

[epigene]

My wife once told me a huge sore on the back of her grandmother's shoulder which was due to her doctor burning moxa repeatedly at the same spot over and over. This wasn't the same with your grandmother was it?

Yes, moxa is applied on the same tsubo all the time, so my grandmother did have burn spots always in the same area.
If traditional massage & acupuncture are covered by national health care plan, I'm pretty sure a lot more people will be visiting them. ☝

 

[Glenn]

So... too expensive for me, then. Oh well. 灸 doesn't look like the kind of thing I'd want to do on my own, either.

 

[craftsman]

So... too expensive for me, then. Oh well. 窶ｹ窶 doesn't look like the kind of thing I'd want to do on my own, either.

And too expensive for me too. I end up having to treat myself with needles and moxa which is no mean feat and requires considerable dexterity.

 

[Ninja Shinichi]

I have try all many times. Ninja receive many times injury and necessary for the recovery. Also try regular medicines but not much effect to get better.