Q. Why does your office smell smoky?

A. The smoky smell comes from burning Chinese mugwort (this is called moxibustion). Mugwort is used to warm the needles during most acupuncture treatments here. This is an important part of the treatment for chronic pain and is the favorite part for most patients because it feels so good. In Chinese, the word we translate as acupuncture is Zhenjiu. Zhen means needle and jiu means moxibustion. They really are considered two inseparable parts of the same practice. However moxibustion isn’t popular in America because it is inconvenient for the acupuncturist. This is unfortunate and part of the reason that most others don’t get the kind of results that we do with chronic pain.