Do you know what factors can affect the effectiveness of moxibustion? In fact, there are seven elements that influence the therapeutic effect of moxibustion: 1. **Mugwort Material**: Mugwort has the effects of warming meridians, promoting qi and blood circulation, dispelling dampness and cold, reducing swelling and dispersing lumps, and rescuing yang in emergency situations. It is processed from mugwort leaves into wool or cakes for moxibustion. At high temperatures, its heat is mild and can penetrate the skin, reaching deep into the body, with the advantages of being easily obtained. 2. **Intensity of Stimulation**: Warmth can maintain a long duration of stimulation. Historical medical literature indicates that sometimes moxibustion with trauma has excellent therapeutic effects. However, care should be taken not to prolong the duration to avoid infection and pain. 3. **Acupuncture Points and Combination**: Moxibustion is inseparable from points, and the effect is generated by the points. Moxibustion must target the stimulation of acupuncture points, that is, point stimulation. The points here have two meanings: point stimulation and correct combination of points. The positioning of moxibustion does not need to be numerous, but it must be symptomatic and select key points. 4. **Duration and Course of Treatment**: To achieve therapeutic effects, moxibustion must be sustained over time. "Duration" implies that each treatment should not be too short, and "course" implies multiple sessions. 5. **Balanced and Continuous Action**: Continuous and balanced moxibustion stimulation is key to achieving therapeutic effects and is the essence of moxibustion. Generally, continuous and even stimulation can accumulate the stimulus quantity. After reaching a certain threshold, sensation transmission can occur, which is an important factor affecting efficacy. 6. **Sensation Transmission**: After moxibustion, local sensations such as warmth, numbness, or crawling like insects may appear, which is referred to as the sensation of moxibustion. This sensation is a guarantee of the therapeutic effect of moxibustion. 7. **Order of Moxibustion**: It is advisable to moxibust the upper body before the lower, the back before the abdomen, the head before the limbs, yang meridians before yin meridians, and start with fewer points and gradually increase. Promoting and advocating moxibustion requires mastering the basic principles of the technique. Mugwort serves as the stimulus source, the points are the targets for moxibustion, balance, duration, and intensity are the methods and their characteristics, transmission is the effect, order is the general routine for moxibustion, and the sensation of moxibustion is the guarantee of its efficacy. Intensity includes duration, and balanced duration leads to transmission; these seven elements form a whole.