Background: Warm acupuncture therapy in Mongolian medicine is an important component of traditional Mongolian medicine, characterized by acupuncture and warm stimulation. Based on the three theories (Heyi, Xila, Badagan) and the principle of cold heat balance, it regulates the circulation of qi and blood and immune function in the human body, and is widely used to treat cold diseases, joint diseases, and neurological diseases. Its history can be traced back to the “moxibustion technique” recorded in the “Huang Di Nei Jing” during the Qin and Han dynasties, and through long-term practice, it has integrated traditional Chinese medicine meridian theory with nomadic medical experience to form a unique diagnosis and treatment system. Modern research has shown that warm acupunctures exhibit significant analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects through their thermal effects and multi-target regulation of the neuroendocrine immune network. However, their molecular mechanisms and clinical translation still need to be systematically investigated. Aim: This study aims to synthesize recent research results, clarify the mechanism of action of Mongolian medicine warm acupuncture (such as neurotransmitter regulation, gene expression regulation, gut microbiota intervention, etc.), summarize its clinical application progress in painful diseases, mental disorders, and osteoarthritis, and explore the optimization path of modern technology for traditional therapies, providing theoretical basis for improving the standard of efficacy and promoting internationalization. Materials and Methods: Combining literature analysis with experimental research, integrating multidisciplinary evidence. Results: Mechanism of action: Neuroregulation: Warm acupuncture inhibits PAX8 (Paired Box Gene 8) protein expression by upregulating miR-101a, improves hippocampal neuron activity, and regulates the sleep wake cycle; Activate the brain gut axis, promote the production of short chain fatty acids, increase serum 5-HT (5-Hydroxytryptamine) levels, and alleviate depressive symptoms. Anti-inflammatory and analgesic: reduce pro-inflammatory factors such as IL-6 (Interleukin-6) and TNF – α (Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha, inhibit COX-2 (Cyclooxygenase-2) activity, and block pain signal transduction. Immune regulation: Enhance macrophage phagocytic function, balance TH1/TH2 cell (T helper cell type 1/ T helper cell type 2) ratio, and improve immune disorders induced by chronic stress. Clinical application: Pain related diseases: The total effective rate of treating knee osteoarthritis is 94.7%, significantly relieving morning stiffness and limited mobility; Reduce VAS scores for lower back and leg pain in patients with lumbar disc herniation by more than 40%. Neurological disorders: Improve the sleep quality of elderly insomnia patients and regulate serum NPY (Neuropeptide Y) and 5-HT1A levels; Relieving tinnitus symptoms may be related to improving ear microcirculation. Mental disorders: improve behavioral abnormalities in depressed rats by regulating gut microbiota (such as increasing the abundance of SCFAs producing bacteria) and brain gut peptide secretion. Conclusion Mongolian medicine warm acupuncture exerts therapeutic effects through multiple targets and pathways, combining traditional medical characteristics with modern scientific verification. It has significant advantages in pain management and intervention for mental illnesses. In the future, it is necessary to further deepen its molecular mechanism research, promote device standardization, and expand its application in chronic disease rehabilitation and preventive medicine, providing scientific support for the modernization of ethnic medicine.

BACKGROUND:On the basis of modern design method and numerical simulation, studies can explore the action mechanisms of sand therapy in Uyghur medicine.
OBJECTIVE:To explore a kind of non-homogeneous and isotropic biological bone finite element modeling method based on CT value, and to study the influence of sand therapy in Uyghur medicine on the mechanical properties of rabbits’ femur.
METHODS:Eight adult New Zealand white rabbits were used to establish osteoarthritis models of right posterior femur with papain. These rabbits were divided into sand therapy group and control group. In the sand therapy group, after treatment with sand therapy in Uyghur medicine, rabbit femoral models were scanned with CT. The fault image data were imported into MIMICS software. 3D model of femur was generated. The meshing was done. The material properties were given. Three-point bending in the Ansys was simulated and solved.Simultaneously, the isolated three point bending tests were performed in al rabbit models. The corresponding deflection and the maximum stress values were obtained. Finaly, the results obtained from the three-dimensional finite element modeling method were compared with the results obtained from the experiments.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1) The deflection and the maximum stress obtained by the three-point bending simulation analysis with the three-dimensional finite element model of the rabbits’ femur were wel correlated with the data obtained from the experiments. (2) These results indicate that the finite element modeling method is consistent with the structural and material properties of bone, which can be used to analyze the stress and deformation ofbones.

Objective To investigate the mechanism of heat transfer process in sand therapy in Uyghur medicine. Methods A mathematical model was developed to describe the heat transfer process between human body and the sand during sand therapy. Temperature field was numerically simulated and analyzed based on this model. Results Temperature field in both human tissues and sand was calculated. The surface temperature of the sand and skin surface changed significantly at the beginning of the sand therapy, while sand temperature (5 cm deep) almost kept constant. The skin temperature dramatically increased at the beginning of the sand therapy and then slightly dropped. When sand was deeper than 10 cm, the thickness of sand would not influence the temperature field in human tissues during sand therapy. High initial temperature of sand might cause harmful skin burn. Threshold skin burn occurred if initial temperature of sand was higher than 64.6 ℃ and if the therapy lasted more than 30 minutes.Conclusion Temperature fieled in human tissues varies significantly with the initial temperature of sand, thickness of sand, and duration of therapy.

ObjectiveTo study the effects of the sand therapy of Uyghur Traditional Medicine on cytokines,such as interleukin-1β(IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), nitric oxide(NO) of the rabbit experimental knee osteoarthritis. Methods27 rabbits were injected papain into the joint space of right knee, and divided randomly into three groups. 15 d after the articular injection, the rabbits of group Ⅰ were treated with the sand therapy, the rabbits of group Ⅱ were treated with fenbid, and Ⅲ group accepted no treatment for the blank control.15 d after treatment, the serum and the douche fluid of the diseased joints were obtained to measure the level of IL-1β,TNF-α and NO. The synovium and the cartilage was observed histopathologically.ResultsCompare with group Ⅱ and Ⅲ, the pathological changes of cartilage and synovitis in group Ⅰ lighten significantly. Compare with groupⅢ,the level of IL-1β, TNF-α in articular douche fluid and NO in serum of group Ⅰ and Ⅱ decreased significantly. ConclusionThe sand therapy can decrease the level of cytokines in the focus joints, which may play a role of treatment in osteoarthritis.

Objective To study the heating effect on skin of the therapeutic sand used in the Uyghur medicine. Methods We have continuously collected data of the dynamically changing surface body temperature during the course of sand therapy. Having applied the surface skin response equations, we calculated the situational effects on surface skin tissue by examining different temperature fields and time segments. All the data was collected by a 2 700 type multichannel data collection apparatus. Results It was found that, in the period of mid June to mid August every year, the air temperature of the sand therapy facility was 40?2.3℃ at the time 15∶00 to 18∶00 in the afternoon and the sand used as a medicinal poultice could be maintained at the temperature of 38?4.6℃ at the depth of 20 cm from the surface of the sand. During the process of sand therapy, the skin surface temperature rises rapidly, up to 39℃,but the skin surface temperature falls subsequently, as the heat stimulates perspiration and the cooling effect of evaporation takes place to 36?0.32℃. Two to three hours later, the surface skin temperature gets stable and maintained at 36?0.6℃. Conclusion When the sand temperature reached 43℃, it could not hurt the skin and tissue, because the body temperature could balance with sand temperature at an ideal temperature for the skin. The ideal time for sand therapy is during the period from June and August, at 15∶00~18∶00 every day. When the air temperature reaches 40?2.3℃, the sand temperature will be below 38?4.6℃. Under these conditions the human body should be buried under the sand at the depth of 20 cm for a period of one half to one hour to achieve therapeutic effects.