Acupuncture and moxibustion, are traditional eastern medical practices

with a history of over 2000 years.

Many people seek out treatment for pain management

and also, other issues like insomnia and injuries.

However, the exact scientific mechanisms of actions weren't fully understood,

but in recent years, efforts are being made to gather clinical evidence

and scientific data of the effectiveness of acupuncture

and validate them through Western medical standards.

Today, we'll focus on acupuncture and moxibustion treatment that has evolved uniquely in Japan.

In recent years, acupuncture and moxibustion have gained attention as a complement to Western medicine.

Workshops are being held in Europe and the United States.

British acupuncturist, Edward Obaidey, studied in Japan and obtained a national qualification.

He has been practicing for 35 years.

Can you tell me a little bit about the difference between Japanese acupuncture versus Chinese acupuncture?

So, for instance, this is a Chinese needle.

This is an extreme example I'm showing you.

And if you have a look here, I don't know if you can see the head.

And this can be used to cause vibration in the needle.

And the needle is basically inserted like this. Yeah?

- And quite thick.
- Yeah.

But the Japanese one, and actually, I can show you how thin it is. I hope you can get this on the camera.

Even if I do this, it's impossible for me to put it in.

It's that thin.

So in order to put this in, we have a tube.

And basically, the needle goes inside there,

and then we tap the needle in.

Chinese acupuncture uses thick, long needles that are inserted deeply,

while Japanese acupuncture uses thin, short needles that are inserted shallowly,

aiming to achieve effects with less stimulation.

Acupuncture is based on the concept of meridians, or "keiraku."

They are energy pathways believed to run throughout the body, connecting to internal organs.

Along these meridians are acupoints.

Stimulating these points with needles is thought to regulate the flow of energy,

leading to effects such as better blood circulation and pain relief.

And so, for instance, a typical line that we all know about is this line here,

which is the large intestine line which actually goes up to the teeth

and that is connected with the large intestine organ inside.

And so, by using the "keiraku," as we call them on the outside of the body,

we can not only help the local area.

So if the arm's stiff or if there is a toothache, we can help,

but also it will change the functioning of the internal organs.

And how they found that out, I don't know.

A lot of trial and experience.

Efforts are underway in Japan

to scientifically prove the effects of this treatment focusing on meridians.

This university has an acupuncture department that brings together Japanese specialists.

I'm inserting a needle into the Gokoku acupoint on your right hand.

Kasuya Daichi demonstrated the effects of stimulating the acupoint

located where the bones of the thumb and index finger meet.

I'm pulling it out.

Thermography detected a rise in body temperature not just in the right hand,

where the needle was inserted.

Temperature also rose in the left hand.

Areas with more blood vessels respond better.

Both hands had the same response, indicating autonomic nervous system involvement.

The autonomic nervous system automatically regulates vital functions

such as body temperature, breathing and heartbeat.

One part of it is the sympathetic nervous system,

which prepares the body for action by increasing heart rate and other responses.

The other part is the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps the body to relax

by decreasing heart rate and in other ways.

One of the characteristics of acupuncture is its ability to normalize the functioning of the autonomic nervous system.

For many years, Kasuya has used acupuncture to treat the aftereffects of stroke.

How is the discomfort?

It's still there.

Kubota Toshihiro suffered a stroke in October 2023.

Seven months later, the left side of his body remains paralyzed.

How about your face?

This part feels stiff.

Immediately after the stroke, facial paralysis made it difficult for him to speak and eat.

There are several acupoints that can help with this.

One is in the middle of the eyebrow.

Another is at the joint between the upper and lower jaws.

They are located along the trigeminal nerve, which controls sensation and movement in the face.

Stimulating these acupoints increases blood flow to the brain,

easing general body pain and facial discomfort.

I couldn't move one side of my face. It was paralyzed.

But now, I can move it a lot better.

I couldn't believe the difference.

He also had sensory impairment in his left arm.

It became difficult for him to sense temperature.

When I took a bath, one side of my body felt cold.

My neurosurgeon said it wasn't clear whether this aftereffect would heal.

For sensory problems, acupuncturists look at how the body's meridians

are connected to decide where to insert needles.

This may not always be in the same spot as the affected area.

They may consider an acupoint just below the knee cap.

There is also an effective point where the bones of the thumb and index finger meet.

Let me apply electrical currents to your arms and legs.

In some cases, Kasuya also applies electrical stimulation to the needles inserted in the arms and legs

to promote the secretion of opioids, a substance that relieves pain.

Opioids are released by the brain and spinal cord.

There are different types with varying effects, such as pain relief and stress reduction.

Research has shown that the type of opioid produced in the brain

depends on the frequency of the electrical stimulation applied.

This graph, based on blood tests, shows the type of opioids that are secreted at different frequencies.

At a low frequency of 2 hertz, opioids promoting relaxation and calm are produced.

A high frequency of 100 hertz leads to the secretion of opioids

that help balance the autonomic nervous system.

Kasuya combines various frequencies in treating sensory problems.

The vibration feels like I'm being tapped. It's like getting a massage.

I can clearly tell that it has improved my skin sensations.

Seven months have passed since Kubota had a stroke.

Rehabilitation and monthly acupuncture treatments have led to a major improvement in his symptoms.

What other applications are there possibly for acupuncture and moxibustion?

Acupuncture can be applied to mental health conditions, such as depression or insomnia.

Mental illnesses are linked to abnormal brain function and cause various symptoms.

Many sufferers complain of fatigue and weariness.

There's evidence that acupuncture is effective for mental health conditions.

It has been proven to improve brain function and regulate the autonomic nervous system.

Therefore, I believe that acupuncture will be utilized in this new area.

Kasuya has also been studying the effects of moxibustion.

Moxibustion involves placing dried mugwort leaves on acupoints and burning them to warm the area.

It improves blood circulation and relieves pain.

The aftereffects of stroke can include dizziness and unsteadiness.

Kasuya has been treating patients with these symptoms

by applying moxibustion to the soles of their feet to improve balance.

He conducted an experiment to verify its effects.

This device measures the distribution of body weight on the soles of the feet.

Even a healthy university student can struggle to maintain balance while standing with eyes closed.

His center of gravity shifts, causing him to sway.

OK, thank you.

Kasuya applied moxibustion to the soles of his feet for about 10 minutes.

He targeted areas known as mechanoreceptors.

Mechanoreceptors are located on the soles and detect pressure and vibration.

They transmit information to the central nervous system to help control posture and balance.

After moxibustion, his balance was measured again.

This is the data taken before the treatment.

And this is the data taken afterward.

The treatment helped to align his center of gravity, improving his balance.

Moxibustion has been proven to improve balance.

We are now using it not only on people with stroke aftereffects, but also those with dizziness.

We also apply it to patients with post-surgery numbness and unsteadiness.

Would it be effective then also for something like Ménière's disease as well?

Dizziness, including Ménière's disease, is caused by abnormalities in the inner ear.

Stimulating mechanoreceptors on the body's surface can help with such symptoms.

This is known as somatosensory stimulation.

It can compensate for the inner ear dysfunction.

Therefore, I stimulate the mechanoreceptors when treating Ménière's disease patients.

These images show the improvement in symptoms of atopic dermatitis

after about 10 months of acupuncture and medication.

This patient had severe itching and hard lumps on her hands and feet,

which didn't improve with medication alone.

She decided to try acupuncture as well.

More people with atopic dermatitis are trying the treatment.

This woman has also had symptoms since birth and started having acupuncture sessions a year ago.

I can't stop thinking about the itchiness. I guess I just have to live with it.

I've tried various treatments and medications, but nothing seems to work for long.

Before starting treatment, acupuncturists ask patients about their health in detail.

I haven't been able to sleep well. I'm not sure if it's because of the itchiness.

How's your sleep quality overall?

Poor.

Do you have any stress from work, study or other things?

Yes, a lot. I'm so behind because I'm so slow at doing everything. It's very frustrating.

Any other concerns besides the itchiness?

It's not as bad as asthma, but I have difficulty breathing.

During this session, Tsuji targeted not only the acupoints for improving skin condition,

but also, for relieving stress.

We use points like Gokoku on the back of the hand and Taisho on the foot.

These acupoints are good for relieving itchiness caused by stress.

The connection between overall health and eczema was a significant focus for a researcher

who once mentored Tsuji.

Egawa Masato has been using acupuncture to treat atopic dermatitis for over 20 years.

I've treated atopic dermatitis patients for many years.

I've come to realize that their symptoms are not just skin-related.

They also have insomnia, stiff shoulders, chills, irritability, and, in women, irregular periods.

These issues indicate an imbalance in the body, which many patients are not being treated for.

I believe that improving the body's overall health can improve atopic dermatitis symptoms.

Egawa is trying to objectively measure how well acupuncture works for treating atopic dermatitis.

One of the indicators he uses is the level of IgE antibodies in the blood.

IgE antibodies help to remove foreign substances from the body.

High levels of these antibodies worsen the symptoms of eczema.

Experts believe an excessive reaction against foreign substances causes skin inflammation.

Egawa examined patients' blood after acupuncture sessions to check their IgE antibody levels.

He found the levels dropped in 91.7 percent of those who saw a significant improvement in symptoms.

This was much higher than in those who had minor or no improvement.

Acupuncture improves allergies by reducing IgE production via the autonomic nervous system.

That's my hypothesis.

The woman receiving acupuncture and medication for the past year

has gradually seen her symptoms improve.

She has been recording her symptoms using a survey provided by her acupuncturists.

She receives a score based on seven questions

about the frequency of symptoms over the previous week.

At the start of treatment, her score was 20, showing she had severe eczema.

Her latest score was 6, indicating mild symptoms.

I couldn't stop thinking about the itching before, but that's no longer the case.

My body used to feel really dry from the inside. It feels completely different now.

And I guess, professor, what challenges do you think that acupuncture working together with Western medicine-

What challenges do you think it faces?

Every area of treatment plays a different role.

Whether it's medication, rehabilitation or nursing care, each serves a specific function.

Acupuncture should also be recognized for its role in team-based healthcare.

Acupuncturists need to demonstrate how it can help patients.

For example, acupuncture can ease pain in patients who can't take medication.

It can also ease drug-related nausea and peripheral nerve dysfunction.

It's important to make known how acupuncture can help with different symptoms.

Doctor, thank you so much for your time today.

Thank you.

Today, we will learn self-care techniques to ease various types of pain from Edward Obaidey,

a licensed practitioner of acupuncture and moxibustion in Japan.

The first technique is for headache relief.

We will use moxa sticks, which warm the acupoints without touching the skin.

This type of moxibustion is available online.

It comes from, a herb.

In English, it's called Artemisia vulgaris.

And in Japanese, we call it "Yomogi."

The main reason that they use Yomogi is the heating curve is very calm and regular, it's not explosive.

And so, you can warm things up. So, it's a very good herb to use.

The acupoints targeted will vary depending on the location of the headache.

For pain at the front of the head, use "Shoyo," at the index-finger nail's lower corner on the thumb side.

For pain on the sides of the head, target "Kansho."

It's at the ring-finger nail's lower corner on the pinky side.

And for pain at the back of the head, focus on "Shotaku," at the pinky nail's outer bottom corner.

And when you use this, you put your finger in between it, so that you're not going to burn her finger.

And the hottest part is here.

And basically, I hold it here about 1 cm away.

And she tells me when it's hot.

And how hot? I mean, it feels quite warm, but not "hot" hot.

When it gets to a sharp heat, you tell me.

Because it's actually quite pleasant, isn't it?

Yes. It's very nice.

If you did this say 2 or 3 times a week, then actually when it's not painful,

then you could probably prevent a full headache coming on.

And where for people who don't have access to Moxa, could you just as you mentioned, just press it?

Literally like this.

- OK. So quite gentle.
- Yeah.

So, it's not painful. Okay.

Don't go too strongly, because the main thing is to sensitize

to get the link between up here and this meridian going.

So, just press it lightly.

The second technique is for menstrual pain.

Target "Saninko," located about four finger widths above the inner ankle.

This acupoint is a meeting point for the meridians connected to the liver, kidneys and spleen.

Warm the point with moxa sticks.

Then you want a gap of about 1 cm or 1.5cm.

And just wait until it warms up nice and slowly.

So when you're warming up this specific point, what action is it having in the body?

It's going into these 3 meridians,

and they will fill up and affect the organs inside.

And then when they're full up you will feel heat.

If you don't have access to moxa, gently press on the acupoint for three seconds

and then release for three seconds.

Repeat this process.

- And would you do it on both sides.
- Yes.

- OK, great.
- So everything we've done on this side.

Repeat it on the other side here.

The third technique is for lower back pain.

The target is "Jinyu," located at the narrowest part of the waist, about two finger widths away from the spine.

This point helps to relieve fatigue.

First, lie on your stomach.

Next important thing we need is this, hot water bottle.

- Is it just a regular standard hot water bottle.
- Yeah.

All we need to do is we just put it here and we can just, if they're not that weak and it's not that painful,

then what we can do is we can start to do some very light massage.

I don't know if you can see this, but I'm just moving the muscles.

Back and forth, back and forth.

And you're not pressing hard because sometimes if you press hard,

it can irritate the problem, and make it worse.

So, for those who don't have a hot water bottle at home, what could you do instead?

We have the answer.

A bottle of water?

Yeah. But with hot water.

That's very ingenious. Brilliant.

You can also roll a plastic bottle containing hot water over the painful parts of your lower back and legs.

Make sure to cover yourself afterward with a towel or other item to stop the heat from escaping.

I guess so the key point, the point, is finding the right point as well.

Yes. When you first find it, you're never going to be 100% correct anyway.

But if you get roughly in that area, and you do the moxa which isn't pinpoint,

you'll be okay; with the hot water bottle, even more so.

You don't really have to worry too much about getting a spot on, and over time you'll feel it anyway.

It was brilliant. Fantastic. Thank you so much.

Oh, my pleasure. It was good to talk to you.