Articles

Acupuncture Point Xiaojie for Ankle Pain

Master Tung passed away in 1975 leaving behind only one book documenting his acupuncture points. Today there are only three direct disciples of Master Tung living in the US. Dr. Wei-Chieh Young is one of them. I am extremely grateful to Dr. Young for sharing his experience with Master Tung’s points via his lectures, seminars and recently published books.

Xiaojie is a point that Dr. Young discovered based on Master Tung’s holographic imaging of the body and contralateral needling technique. This point is located at the base of the ball of the thumb and needled for an inch and a half thru the thenar eminance of the palm. This acupuncture point alone is amazingly effective for sprained or strained ankle and I have had occasion to use it several times in my clinic.

Self Acupressure For Diarrhea

Here it is – my debut on www.youtube.com! My sister convinced me that I could make an instructional video on acupressure, so we gave it a whirl. Considering we had several takes due to one or both of us bursting out laughing, it didn’t come out too bad, if I do say so myself.
I chose to demonstrate this Master Tung acupuncture point because I have used it myself and I know it is effective. As I say in the video, the translated name of the point is “Intestine Gate”. Intestine Gate has a powerful effect on calming the intestinal tract. Acupressure can be used in an acute situation. Acupuncture to this point along with others based on the Chinese medical differential diagnosis can be used to treat chronic diarrhea.

Master Tung’s Gynecology (Fu Ke) Acupuncture Point

This two-point unit is located on the ulnar aspect of the proximal segment of the dorsal side of the thumb. This acupuncture point is very effective to treat almost any kind of gynecological disease including irregular menses, dysmenorrhea, menorrhagia, amenorrhea, endometriosis, fallopian tube blockage, uterine pain or fibroids, frequent miscarriage and infertility.
This point is needled on one hand and often coupled with a different point on the opposite hand called Return to Nest (Nest being a reference to the uterus). The first time Fu Ke will be needled on the left and Return to Nest on the Right. The next time, Fu Ke will be needled on the right and Return to Nest on the left. Continue alternating the points with each treatment.

Mind Body Spirit Fitness – The NIA Technique

Last weekend I attended a NIA workshop at the Kripalu Yoga Institute in Lenox, Massachusetts. Carlos Rosas, co-founder of the technique, led our “Dancing Through Life” workshop. NIA, an acronym for Neuromuscular Integrative Action, is an amazing mind, body and spirit approach to fitness.
You may think that a website devoted to acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is an odd place to be discussing a fitness technique, but if you consider that TCM also focuses on keeping the body in balance to maintain health by addressing the mind, body and spirit of each individual, you will see that there is a definite correlation.

Self Acupressure for Constipation

I often give my patients homework to do between acupuncture treatments. This homework commonly involves acupressure. Sometimes small seeds are applied to the ear to stimulate corresponding parts of the body to relieve pain. Sometimes points are stimulated on the hand corresponding to Korean Hand acupuncture points. And sometimes pressure is applied directly to the meridian acupuncture points.
Acupressure can address acute symptoms between the acupuncture treatments which in turn focus on addressing the underlying imbalance in the body that is causing the pain, symptom or disease.
Here is a short video clip I found on YouTube demonstrating the use of acupressure to relief constipation. The narrator explains that this technique can be helpful for those incidences of constipation that many people experience while travelling.

The Magic Points of Master Tung

If I had to pick one event in the last six years that had the most impact on my career as an acupuncturist, I would have to say that it was in 2003 when I listened to a taped lecture by Susan Johnson on Master Tung’s Top Ten Points.
At the time, my training in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) had focused on the 365 points of the Fourteen Meridian System, a system that has been standardized in the People’s Republic of China. This is the system that is most often taught in the acupuncture schools of the U.S. It is the system upon which the national (NCCAOM) acupuncture board exam is based.

Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine for Smoking Cessation

With the new year, come New Year’s resolutions, and several people have been asking me about using Chinese medicine to help them to quit smoking. Acupuncture has been used successfully to overcome addictions in this country for decades.
The National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA) was formed in 1988 and promotes the use of a specific ear acupuncture protocol to help with the anxiety and stress associated with hardcore drug addiction withdrawal. This protocol has been applied to smoking cessation. Four or five points are selected on the ear and stimulated either by hand or with electrical stimulation.

Bleeding the Ear Apex

There are many good books on the market for auricular acupuncture and I have several in my reference library, but there is one that is special to me – “Modern Chinese Ear Acupuncture” by Ping Chen. Dr. Chen (though she always insisted that we call her Ping) was one of my professors at the International Institute of Chinese Medicine in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is a dedicated teacher and compassionate doctor and I am very grateful to have had her as a mentor.
Ping’s book is thorough in point location and indications with detailed diagrams and case studies. She speaks of many ways to stimulate the auricular points including seed acupressure, needle implantation, plum blossom needling, ear moxibustion, ear massage, medicated plasters, electroacupuncture, magnet therapy, medicine injection and bloodletting.

Insomnia Due to Heart Disease

A local support group for heart and stroke patients asked me recently to give a talk about acupuncture and Chinese medicine at one of their monthly meetings. One gentleman approached me afterwards and said that he had not slept well since his heart bypass surgery, which had been about three years earlier. This did not surprise me, as the Heart in Chinese medicine is said to house the spirit and has a lot to do with the body’s ability to sleep peacefully. Since the problem was becoming really worrisome (he only slept two hours a night), and he did not want to add another medication to his long list of prescriptions, he decided he had nothing to lose by trying acupuncture treatments.
We started weekly treatments. I used points that are well known to calm the mind and nourish the heart to help sleep. For a couple of weeks, he would sleep better for a night or two only to return to the same pattern of two hours a night. After four treatments he was getting discouraged, and even though I did not expect to turn around a three year-old habit overnight, I was searching all of my materials for the best protocol for his constitution.

100 Diseases Treated by Single Point of Acupuncture and Moxibustion

by Dr. Chen Decheng
I have written before about the power of a single point being able to resolve pain in the body, but here is a book from my library that documents 100 diseases that can be treated with a single point!
Many of the points that Dr. Decheng writes about are well known points either on the regular meridians or extra points that are commonly taught in acupuncture schools around the country. For example, a point on the leg on the stomach meridian (ST38) is commonly used to treat frozen shoulder. The master point of the Du meridian, which runs through the spine, (SI3) is commonly used to treat stiff neck. Moxa (an herb) is burned over the point BL67 (next to the nail on the little toe) to correct a transverse or breech fetal position. And the extra point Er Bai, on the palmer aspect of the forearm, is specifically used to treat hemorrhoids.