Whilst this is true, to utilise its full potential acupuncturists also use a refined herb (commonly known as "moxa") which is smouldered either just over the skin or on the handles of the needles themselves. As a fully conceived combined therapy, acupuncture and moxa is around 2,000 years old. In fact, texts describing moxibustion were found amongst the oldest authenticated surviving collection of medical scrolls in China, predating acupuncture, so it is quite probable that the roots of needle therapy actually lie in moxibustion itself. Since those early times, acupuncture and moxa has been used by literally millions of practitioners on countless millions of people, treating a huge variety of complaints. Indeed it may well be the world's oldest continuously practised holistic therapy.
