Just a few years ago, Li Peiguo, a 60-year-old retired military officer, was for much of the day confined to bed due to palindromic rheumatism (PR), sudden and rapidly developing arthritis.

The first attack, in the knee joints, occurred in the winter of 1999, and spread to the rest of the body within two months.

Li was in constant pain and there was redness and swelling in all the joints. In addition, the interval between attacks shortened while the duration increased.

He was mistakenly diagnosed with osteoarthritis, which is also known as degenerative arthritis or degenerative joint disease.

"I could only resort to pain killers to ease the agony," Li says. "I could not walk, or lift anything. If I squatted, I could not get up. It felt really bad."

The turning point came unexpectedly in late 2007. After being re-diagnosed as having PR and undergoing a course of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for one year at the 301 Military Hospital, Li saw a notice board introducing acupuncture and moxibustion practitioners and he decided to make inquiries.

That's how he met Guan Ling, chief doctor of acupuncture and moxibustion at the hospital.

After five months of acupuncture, every other day, Li was able to reduce the number of painkillers he took and the attacks were less frequent.

In May 2008, on the advice of Guan, Li started moxibustion and gradually dropped acupuncture.

To begin with he underwent direct moxibustion every day on acupuncture points such as zusanli on the front of the calf, guanyuan, four finger widths below the navel, and shenyu, about 5 cm away from the second lumbar vertebrae.

Half a month later his arthritis in the major joints disappeared, leaving just the occasional bouts of pain in the knuckles.

The doctor taught Li to do direct moxibustion at home and asked him to do additional indirect moxibustion.

Half a year later, all the symptoms of PR had vanished.

"I was overwhelmed by the efficacy," says Li says, who continues to practice moxibustion.

Guan, Li's doctor at the 301 Military Hospital, says moxibustion is quite efficient in the treatment of chronic and autoimmune diseases, such as PR.

Wang Zhigang, an office worker in Beijing, used to suffer from ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic, inflammatory arthritis and autoimmune disease, which causes pain and stiffness in and around the spine, and can lead to fusion of the spine.

"I felt very depressed when waking up in the morning, only to find I couldn't move at all," Wang says.

The syndrome first appeared in May 2009. After about one and a half years of conventional treatment, doctors suggested a combined therapy of Western medicine and traditional acupuncture and moxibustion.

"I feel much stronger, although I still suffer from the syndrome," Wang says. "I'm glad that I chose the combined therapy."

From 2008, Guan's acupuncture and moxibustion department has been cooperating with other departments at the hospital to help patients with autoimmune and chronic diseases, and many have been cured, or at least enabled to enjoy a less troubled life.

"Moxibustion has great potential in treating refractory diseases," Guan says. "Because it works through the stimulation and enhancement of the body's defense and repair powers."

TCM considers the human body as a whole, and the balance between the internal organs, the body as a whole and the environment are the basis of health.

"When people get ill, it is the result of a loss of the perfect balance," Guan says.

"Through the introduction of heat, blistering and scarring, moxibustion stimulates certain acupuncture points, and provokes the body to restore the ideal balance."

"We should do more research on moxibustion to make more use of the ancient therapy," Guan says.

China Daily