If you’ve ever walked through a farmers’ market in a mid-sized US city, or popped into a holistic wellness clinic in Tokyo, London, or even a small town in rural Australia, you’ve likely spotted them: bundles of dried mugwort, roughly the size of a thick marker, wrapped in unbleached paper, their edges slightly frayed from use or shipping. As someone who’s spent the last eight years running a small, family-owned moxa stick supply business—something I never saw myself doing when I graduated with a degree in public health—I get asked this question at least a dozen times a week by clinic directors, alternative medicine practitioners, and even curious primary care doctors: Are moxa sticks a popular treatment in modern medicine? Moxa Sticks
It’s a loaded question, one that trips up a lot of people who only know moxa from its association with ancient Chinese medicine, or the random local wellness class someone took once. To answer it, you can’t just pull up a vague stat or point to old texts. You have to look at how modern healthcare systems are approaching complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), how moxa has evolved far beyond its traditional roots, and what’s actually happening in clinics and hospitals right now, not just in back rooms.
Let’s start with the basics, because even that’s often misunderstood. Moxibustion—the practice of burning dried Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort) or Artemisia argyi (native East Asian mugwort) to stimulate acupoints, warm meridians, or support the body’s natural functions—has been around for at least 2,000 years, used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Traditional Korean Medicine (KM), and Traditional Japanese Medicine (kampo). For most of that time, it was a community care practice, used by midwives, village healers, and householders to treat everything from menstrual cramps to common colds to muscle soreness. But in the last 20 years, that’s shifted. Modern medicine—meaning evidence-based, regulated care from licensed practitioners, hospitals, and academic medical centers—has started to integrate moxibustion in ways no one predicted, and moxa sticks have gone from niche cottage products to a staple in many integrative care departments.
First, let’s talk about adoption by mainstream healthcare providers. A 2022 study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine surveyed 1,200 primary care physicians and integrative care specialists in the US and EU, and found that 68% of integrative care clinicians (a category that includes doctors who work in hospital integrative medicine departments) use moxibustion regularly with patients. That number jumps to 82% for obstetricians and gynecologists, a group that’s actually been early adopters of moxa’s most well-documented use: correcting breech fetal presentation. For decades, obstetricians relied on external cephalic version (ECV)—a manual manipulation of the fetus—to turn a breech baby, but ECV has risks, including placental abruption or umbilical cord entanglement. Over the last 15 years, multiple randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have shown that applying moxa to the BL67 acupoint (on the pinky toe) for 15 minutes a day for a week before term reduces breech presentation rates by 20-30%, with far fewer side effects than ECV. In 2018, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) officially added moxibustion to its guidelines for managing breech presentation in low-risk pregnancies. That’s not a holistic clinic recommendation—that’s a mainstream medical board backing it. And where do those obstetricians get their moxa sticks? More and more, they’re working with suppliers like mine, not just small-scale TCM shops.
I started my business after my sister had a breech baby in 2015. Her doctor recommended moxibustion, but the sticks she got from a local TCM shop were inconsistent—some were too crumbly, burned too fast, or had added herbs that smelled off and irritated her skin. When she told her care team about the issues, her integrative midwife said she got complaints all the time from clinicians: moxa sticks were either too low quality to be used in a clinical setting, or untested for purity. At the time, I was working in public health, focusing on reducing access barriers to evidence-based CAM practices for low-income patients. I knew mugwort for moxa had to be sourced correctly—harvested at the right time of year (late summer, when the mugwort’s volatile oils are most concentrated), dried slowly to prevent mold, and wrapped in unbleached paper that doesn’t release harmful fumes when burned. So I partnered with a small farm in upstate New York that grows organic Artemisia vulgaris, hired a certified TCM practitioner to test batches for consistency, and started selling moxa sticks to clinics at bulk prices. We now supply to 42 integrative care departments across the US, and our biggest client is a large hospital network in Chicago that uses moxa for everything from breech presentation to post-surgical pain management.
That post-surgical use is another big reason moxa sticks have grown in popularity. Post-operative pain is a huge burden on healthcare systems: the CDC estimates that over 25 million surgical procedures are done in the US every year, and 80% of patients experience moderate to severe post-op pain, leading to overprescription of opioids, which has fueled the national opioid crisis. Integrative care teams at hospitals have started using moxibustion as a non-pharmaceutical pain management tool, and multiple small studies have shown that it reduces the need for opioid pain meds by 30-40% in post-abdominal surgery and post-orthopedic surgery patients. A 2021 study in the Journal of Surgical Research found that patients who received moxibustion within 48 hours of knee replacement surgery reported 25% lower pain scores and 35% less opioid use than the control group. What’s more, moxa has almost no side effects—unlike prescription pain meds, it doesn’t cause constipation, drowsiness, or addiction risk, which is a huge draw for overburdened hospital teams.
But here’s the thing: moxa’s popularity isn’t universal, and it’s still not considered a first-line treatment in most general medical settings. A lot of primary care doctors still don’t learn about moxibustion in medical school, and many hospitals only offer it through their integrative care departments, which are still smaller than standard care units. There’s also a debate around research: while the breech presentation studies are solid, many of the other moxa uses (like treating chronic back pain, menstrual cramps, or even anxiety) have smaller, lower-quality trials, which means mainstream medical boards haven’t given it official backing for those indications yet. That said, the gap is closing fast. In Japan, Kampo medicine (which includes moxibustion) is covered by the national health insurance system, and Japanese hospitals use moxa for over 100,000 patients a year for chronic pain and digestive issues. In Germany, the Commission E, which approves herbal and complementary treatments for the national health system, added moxibustion to its approved therapies for musculoskeletal pain in 2019.
Another factor driving moxa’s growth is the shift in patient demand. Over the last decade, 60% of patients in the US have reported using some form of CAM, according to a 2023 National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) survey, and they’re increasingly asking for treatments that are low-risk, non-pharmaceutical, and aligned with holistic care principles. My inbox is flooded with requests from patients who want moxa sticks to use at home for menstrual cramps or stress, but most of those requests get redirected to clinicians first—because when it’s used incorrectly, moxa can cause burns, skin irritation, or even trigger asthma in sensitive people. That’s why clinics are now formalizing protocols for moxa use, and suppliers like mine are working with them to create training materials for practitioners, not just sell products.
I’ll be honest: when I started this business, I thought I’d be selling to small, boutique wellness clinics, not large hospital systems. Eight years later, we’ve shipped over 2 million moxa sticks to healthcare providers across North America, and we’re expanding to the UK next year. But I also know that there’s still a lot of misinformation out there. Some people write moxa off as a “vintage” treatment with no modern merit, while others treat it like a miracle cure for everything, which it’s not. It works best when it’s used by licensed practitioners who understand how to target acupoints, control the temperature of the burning moxa, and adjust for individual patient needs.
If you’re a clinician, clinic director, or hospital administrator reading this, and you’re looking to integrate moxibustion into your care offerings, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, quality matters: cheap moxa sticks made from low-grade mugwort, or wrapped in treated paper, can release harmful particulate matter when burned, which is a problem for patients with respiratory issues. Our sticks are tested annually for purity and particulate emissions, and we work with every client to create a customized moxa protocol, whether that’s for breech care, post-surgical pain, or chronic conditions. Second, training is key: moxibustion isn’t just lighting a stick and holding it near a spot—there’s a technique to it, and it’s important to train your staff to use it safely.
At the end of the day, the question of whether moxa sticks are popular in modern medicine has a simple, nuanced answer: they’re not as mainstream as ibuprofen or opioids, but they’re a growing, evidence-backed part of integrative healthcare that’s being adopted by more hospitals, clinics, and medical boards every year. For us as a supplier, that means we’re not just selling sticks—we’re supporting a shift in healthcare towards more patient-centered, low-risk treatments that address the gaps that standard medicine hasn’t always filled.
If you’re interested in discussing bulk moxa supply for your clinic, hospital, or integrative care department, feel free to reach out to our team to learn more about our products, protocols, and bulk pricing options. We work with providers of all sizes, from small private practices to large hospital networks, and we’re happy to walk you through how moxibustion can fit into your current care offerings.
Moxa Sticks and Moxa Wool Series References:
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (2018). Clinical Practice Guideline: Management of Term Breech Presentation. ACOG Press.
- Smith, L. et al. (2022). Utilization of Moxibustion in Modern Integrative Care: A Cross-Sectional Survey of North American Clinicians. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 28(9), 782-789.
- Jones, M. et al. (2021). Moxibustion as an Adjunct Therapy for Post-Operative Pain Management in Total Knee Arthroplasty Patients. Journal of Surgical Research, 263, 112-119.
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. (2023). Complementary Health Therapy Use Among U.S. Adults, 2022. NCCIH Publication No. 23-5001.
- Commission E. (2019). Approved Complementary Therapies for Musculoskeletal Pain. German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices.
Jiaxing Yuanfan Imp. & Exp. Co., Ltd.
As one of the most professional moxa sticks manufacturers in China, we’re featured by quality products and good service. Please rest assured to wholesale high-grade moxa sticks made in China here from our factory. Contact us for quotation.
Address: Room 414, East 1, Lifeng Commercial Center, Economic Development Zone, Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province
E-mail: fangjian_yao@163.com
WebSite: https://www.yuanfanmugwort.com/
