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Lumbar disc herniation is a common cause of low back and leg pain, and moxibustion – the warming therapy that burns the herb mugwort over points and channels – is often used as part of non-surgical care. This network meta-analysis set out to identify which moxibustion combinations work best.
The authors pooled 50 randomised controlled trials involving 4,399 patients, comparing moxibustion alone and in combination with acupuncture, tuina (Chinese massage), lumbar traction, herbal medicine and conventional care. Outcomes were pain (Visual Analogue Scale), function (Oswestry Disability Index) and overall symptoms (Japanese Orthopaedic Association score).
Moxibustion-based combinations generally outperformed conventional care. Pairing moxibustion with conventional treatment, or with tuina, produced the largest gains in the symptom score, while moxibustion plus acupuncture notably improved function.
Conclusion: the evidence – though of low-to-moderate quality – suggests moxibustion adds value when combined with other treatments for lumbar disc herniation, particularly for symptoms and day-to-day function.
Source: Du D, Wang S, Wang S, and colleagues. Front Neurol. 2026. View on PubMed (PMID 42222533)
This is a plain-language summary of a published study, provided for general information; please refer to the original paper for full details.
