A Study on the Proper Treatment Time of Electronic Moxibustion - Focusing on the Skin Safety -

Abstract

동국대학교 한의과대학 원전의사학교실, 4 동제메디칼Objectives : Electronic moxibustion was developed to overcome the weakness of conventional moxibution. However, in spite of many benefits, it also can not be entirely free from the concern of burning. This study was performed to investigate the proper treatment time of electronic moxibustion. Methods : Male sprague-Dawley rats weighing about 350 g were used. Animals were anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital and shaved on the abdomen or back. The full charged-electronic moxibustion device was placed on the shaved site and it was observed if there happened any adverse event after treatment. Results : At the temperatures of 41, 43, and 45°C there was no abnormal sign after moxibustion even in full time. However, at 47°C, the safe treatment time was 3 min. On the other hand, 49°C produced diverse adverse events even in 1 min. Conclusions : Results of the present study suggest that the safe treatment time of electronic moxibustion is different according to the temperature. The most common adverse effect in this electronic moxibustion was the white spot and it is needed to observe whether there is any adverse event until 48 h after treatment.

Adverse Events of Electronic Moxibustion Treatment for Knee Osteoarthritis: Case Reports and a Literature Review

“…The relationship between moxibustion temperature and burns has been widely researched to determine safety. In an vivo model, burns occurred on the skin of the back of the rat in 4 minutes when electronic moxibustion was performed at 47°C, and burn occurred within 1 minute when the device was set at 49°C [15]. Another study reported that if the temperature of electronic moxibustion was rapidly increased to its maximum within 1 minute, erythema may persist at the application site beyond 24 hours [7].…”

Temperature Characteristics of Traditional Indirect Moxibustion and Electronic Moxibustion

“…According to a survey on the clinical use of moxibustion, 91% of Korean medicine doctors were applying moxibustion, with the most common type being the adhesive-type indirect moxibustion using traditional moxa [6]. EM was recently developed to minimize side effects such as burns and overcome therapeutic complications such as smoke or smell arising from TIM [11]. Furthermore, there have been clinical studies investigating the efficacy of EM for breast cancer-related lymphedema [16], ankylosing spondylitis [17], shoulder periarthritis [12], knee osteoarthritis [18,19], lumbar stenosis [20] and traffic accident-induced lumbago [10].…”

“…Chae et al [13] reported no significant difference in body surface temperature after applying traditional moxibustion or EM for 2 minutes. Park et al [11] reported on the proper treatment duration based on skin safety to prevent side effects by utilizing EM on the abdominal and back skin of rats. Furthermore, to substitute the thermal stimulation effect of traditional moxibustion, it is important to maintain heat conductance in deep skin tissues [26].…”

“…Electronic moxibustion (EM) has recently been developed to overcome the limitations of the traditional moxibustion method and can stimulate the skin with a relatively constant temperature via electronically-produced heat, alleviating burns, smoke, and odor [3,11,12]. According to Chae et al [13], there is no significant temperature difference between applying traditional combustible moxibustion and EM on skin surface temperature.…”

“…According to Chae et al [13], there is no significant temperature difference between applying traditional combustible moxibustion and EM on skin surface temperature. Furthermore, Park et al [11] reported on the proper treatment time when applying EM that is safe from causing burns. However, no study has yet analyzed the temperature change in deep tissue induced by EM by depth in comparison to traditional moxibustion.…”