What is Fire Needle Therapy? Why is it called ‘fire’?
As the name suggests, fire needle therapy involves using specially designed needles that are heated until red-hot and then quickly inserted into acupuncture points or local lesions to treat diseases. It falls under the category of acupuncture treatment, possessing the ability to warm the meridians, dispel cold, and promote circulation. Clinically, it is often used for treating conditions related to deficiency and cold, as well as abscesses and toxic swellings. By combining needling with heat, it harnesses the power of ‘fire’ to directly stimulate the body’s qi, warm the organs, and enhance yang energy, thus playing a role in disease prevention and treatment.
What is the mechanism of action of fire needle therapy in treating skin diseases?
1.From the perspective of TCM holistic theory: After the fire needle is applied, local stimulation and the conduction of meridians can regulate the body’s qi and blood, body fluids, yin and yang, and qi dynamics, restoring the functional activity of the organs and promoting the balance of yin and yang. Clinically, cold pathogens are a major cause of localized or systemic pain and sensory disturbances in skin diseases. The penetrating heat of the fire needle can warm the meridians and invigorate yang energy, achieving the overall effect of dispelling cold pathogens, harmonizing the meridians, and alleviating pain. According to the TCM principle of ‘tender points, using pain as a point of treatment’: fire needles can warm and unblock the meridians, accelerate local qi and blood circulation, improve microcirculation, dissipate stagnation, disperse cold dampness, drain heat toxins, and relieve pain. Therefore, in clinical practice, fire needle techniques such as point needling, dispersing needling, surrounding needling, and star needling are used for the local treatment of various abscesses, scrofula, and herpes zoster, with quick and effective results.
2.Modern medicine believes that the effects of fire needle therapy are as follows:
1.“Treating pain with pain”: Pain perception is composed of nerve endings located at the junction of the epidermis and dermis, which can be particularly sensitive. Rapidly inserting a fire needle into the skin stimulates sensory nerves, transmitting the stimulus to the pain center in the cerebral cortex. At this moment, the pain stimulus on the skin increases, while the visceral pain relatively decreases, achieving a ‘pain transfer’ effect, such as in the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia with fire needles, which shows significant results.
2.“Treating itch with pain”: Itching is a common symptom of skin diseases. Scratching can cause tissue damage and hinder the healing of skin diseases or lead to recurrence. Therefore, effective itch relief is crucial. Clinically, antihistamines and corticosteroids are commonly used for allergic skin diseases, but they can lead to dependency and exacerbate symptoms upon withdrawal. Itch and pain are transmitted by the same neurons and pain fibers. As the ancients said, “itch is a gradual pain, pain is an extreme itch,” indicating their inseparable relationship. Fire needle therapy can facilitate the transformation between itch and pain, achieving therapeutic goals. For instance, fire needle therapy has shown significant efficacy in treating nodular prurigo and neurodermatitis, which are severe itching skin diseases.
3.Mobilizing immunity and anti-inflammatory capabilities: The heat from the fire needle rapidly penetrates the muscle layer, expanding local blood vessels during the insertion process. This vascular expansion enhances the permeability of cells and their phagocytic ability. It also accelerates blood circulation, reduces sebum secretion, and promotes anti-inflammatory and disease-fighting effects, facilitating cell regeneration. For example, fire needle therapy has shown significant effects in treating corns, viral warts, acne, folliculitis, and flat warts, with low recurrence rates.
Fire needle therapy is a gem of traditional Chinese medicine, enriching the methods for treating skin diseases and leveraging the advantages of integrated TCM and Western medicine. It has dual effects of acupuncture and thermal therapy, is easy to perform, involves minimal trauma, and has a wide range of indications; patients experience less suffering, shorter treatment duration, significant efficacy, good compliance, and high satisfaction.
Finally, please note the contraindications for fire needle therapy:
1.Fever or infection, severe internal organ disease during acute phases.
2.Individuals with coagulation disorders.
3.Patients with severe hypertension, heart disease, liver and kidney dysfunction, and infectious diseases.
4.Skin lesions, local redness, swelling, heat, pain, or abscesses.
5.Individuals over 75 years old, infants, or those who are overly anxious and unable to cooperate with treatment.
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Address: Acupuncture Clinic, 6th Floor, Outpatient Department, Guigang People’s Hospital
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