Ginger-separated moxibustion for chronic fatigue syndrome and its effect on intestinal flora, 2021, Lin et al

Objective: To observe the effect of ginger-separated moxibustion on fatigue state and intestinal flora in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

Methods: A total of 62 patients with CFS were randomly divided into an observation group (31 cases, 3 cases dropped off) and a control group (31 cases, 2 cases dropped off). The patients in the control group were treated with normal diet and moderate exercise; on the basis of the control group, the patients in the observation group were treated with ginger-separated moxibustion at Zhongwan (CV 12), Shenque (CV 8) and Guanyuan (CV 4), 30 min each time, once every other day, three times a week. Both groups were intervened for 4 weeks. Before and after treatment, the fatigue scale-14 (FS-14) was used to observe the improvement of fatigue state, and 16S rRNA detection technology was used to detect the distribution of intestinal flora.

Results: Compared before treatment, the FS-14 score was reduced after treatment in the observation group (P<0.01), and the reduction in the observation group was larger than that in the control group (P<0.01). The relative abundance of intestinal flora was similar between the observation group and control group at the phylum and genus level before treatment. After treatment, there was no significant change of intestinal flora in the control group. However, the enterobacteriaceae, corynebacterium, erysipelothrix, actinomycetes were increased in the observation group (P<0.05), and actinomycetes, ruminococcus, lactarius had obvious flora advantages compared with the control group (P<0.05).

Conclusion: The ginger-separated moxibustion could significantly improve the fatigue state in CFS patients, which may be related to the regulation of intestinal flora structure and the repair of intestinal barrier.

English abstract only, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33798308/
Chinese language link, https://kns.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?doi=10.13703/j.0255-2930.20200210-k0001

 

What is ginger-separated moxibustion? I've googled it but I'm none the wiser.

 

It’s a Chinese medicine technique apparently to do with burning stuff I presume that ginger replaces the mugwort? The paper looks very suspect in terms of design from the abstract but I haven’t read the paper.



from wiki

 

Ginger-separated moxibustion has the functions of warming meridians to remove cold, activating blood to clear off meridian obstruction, and strengthening body resistance to dispel pathogens. Moxibustion can treat prolonged diseases.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/scien... the,Moxibustion can treat prolonged diseases.

 

Sorry, but that actually makes things worse. I don't know what meridians are, whether they are warm or cold. I also don't know what it means to "activate blood".

 

I think it’s to do with pressure points and acupuncture ...I’m no expert ...it sounds quite mystical....a bit like the conjecture around gut biome at the moment

 

I tried moxibustion many years ago. I was given a cigarette shaped "herbal stick" to burn near (approx 1 cm away from the skin, if I remember correctly?) various points along certain meridians (subtle energy channels). There was no flame, just some subtle smoke and heat.

It didn't help.

 

I have tried various TCM “things” at the onset of my illness; herbs, acupuncture, moxibustion were all part of the menu.

I suspect that they are all next to useless but we will never have an honest study to tell us so, because... who is going to bother spending the time?

 

This treatment does help; just not the patient.