Acupuncture & TCM Articles

DIY acupressure: Press hard and rub
By Zhang Qian

You can put 5,000 years of traditional Chinese medicine to use with acupressure to ease a headache, toothache, clear nasal congestion and relieve sun stroke. Many Chinese even use it to revive someone who has fainted, writes Zhang Qian.

Chinese martial arts movies - notably "Couching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" - dazzle us with amazing kung fu. One of the most common and dramatic exploits is dian xue (pressing the acupuncture points) to paralyze the enemy by attacking certain spots on his or her body with a finger.

Of course, we cannot master that X-treme kung fu as it is only a legend, but acupuncture points do exist in Chinese traditional medicine (TCM) and acupuncture and acupressure are powerful medicine.

Acupuncture therapy and massage therapy are based on the theory of meridians and acupuncture points. Rubbing certain acupuncture points by yourself - acupressure - can also relieve pain and ease problems. Many Chinese commonly use acupressure to revive someone who has fainted - it's taught as first aid.

It is common knowledge in Western medicine that blood runs through arteries and vessels in the human body to ensure that nutrition is sent to every muscle, every organ, all tissues, every cell. If it is blocked somewhere, that part of the muscle or organ will be impaired; if it has been blocked for long, the tissue will die.

Actually, there is similar teaching in traditional Chinese medicine, which emphasizes the function of qi (energy) and jingluo (meridians).

"Unobstructed meridians ensure that energy runs continually throughout the human body, and keeps the balance within the body," says Dr Zhang Zhongyi, deputy director of the Acupuncture Department of Yueyang Western and Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital. "If it is blocked somewhere, it will cause pain and illnesses."

Acupuncture with needles unblocks the energy channels, relieving pain and many kinds of ailments - colds, fatigue, dizziness, rheumatism, tendinitis, headaches, vomiting, palpitations and many others. It has helped people lose weight and stopped smoking.

You have seen those charts of acupuncture points: altogether they are 12 main meridians, and eight extra meridians. The main meridians, also called zheng jing (regular meridians), are symmetrically located on the left and right sides of the body, covering the head, chest, arms and legs.

TCM classifies hundreds of acupuncture points into three groups: classical points, extra points, and ashi points. Classical points are the 361 acupuncture points on the 12 main meridians, the governor vessel, and conception vessel.

Extra points refer to those fixed acupuncture points that don't fall on any main meridians or vessels, with 48 being frequently used in TCM. Ashi points are the nameless points that don't have a fixed location. Wherever it hurts, there's an ashi point.

The shu xue, or the acupuncture points, are where energy flows to the surface of the human body, and that it is where we usually receive therapies such as acupuncture and massage. How meridians work in your body From traditional Chinese medicine, yang is divided into taiyang, yangming and shaoyang based on its three levels. Taiyang refers to the strongest yang energy, with shaoyang the second, and yangming the least.

This is also the case with yin energy. Taiyin, shaoyin and jueyin are the three levels of yin energy.

TCM holds it that energy runs from the chest to the hands through the three yin meridians in the hands, from the hands to the head through the three yang meridians in the hands, from the head to the feet through the three yang meridians in the feet, and from the feet back to the chest through the three yin meridians in the feet.

The eight extra meridians are du mai (governor vessel), ren mai (conception vessel), chong mai (thoroughfare vessel), dai mai (belt vessel), yin qiao mai (yin heel vessel), yang qiao mai (yang heel vessel), yin wei mai (yin link vessel) and yang wei mai (yang link vessel).

The Eight Extra Meridians Poster - NEW

Laminated Poster measures 17" X 22". The Eight Extra (Extraordinary) Meridians. Shows the extraordinary meridians: Du Mai, Ren Mai, Chong Mai, Dai Mai, Yangqiao Mai, Yinqiao Mai, Yinwei Mai and Yangwei Mai.
Listed for each meridian: Confluent point, Function, Pathological Symptoms, Pulse, Herbs and Coalescent points.
Great reference and educational set for every office.

As physician in chief and professor at the Institute of Orthopedic Traumatology at China Academy of TCM, Dr. Wang exhibits his expertise in this field in the pages of this work. Following a general introduction section that includes details of specific orthopedic manipulations, the clinical study section of this book primarily describes treatments for diseases of the nervous system, spinal column, and bones and joints, including cerebral trauma and birth injury, sciatica, rheumatoid arthritis, and torticollis, and as well a short list of common conditions such as headache, toothache, shock, and dizziness. Subsequently the author presents the outcome research from clinical trials on the effects of acupressure therapy in treating sequelae of cerebral trauma and cerebral birth injury.