Formulas & Needles
Three Core Actions of Acupuncture: Yin-Yang Balance, Immune Support & Meridian Flow
Acupuncture harmonizes yin-yang, supports zheng qi and expels pathogens, and unblocks meridians through point combinations and needling techniques. Key points include Zusanli, Neiting, and Guanyuan.
Moxibustion at Houxi (SI3) for Stye: A TCM Cure
Stye is treated by direct moxibustion at Houxi (SI3), applying the left-for-right method with three cones. Pre-suppurative lesions resolve; suppurated ones drain in three days without scarring. Recurrent cases cure in two sessions.
Acupuncture for Cancer Pain: Opening the Four Gates
About 70% of advanced cancer patients suffer from severe pain. Acupuncture stimulates endorphin release for natural pain relief. Learn the Four Gates technique (Hegu and Taichong) and key needling methods.
Precautions and Contraindications of Acupuncture and Moxibustion
Moxibustion therapy must adhere to strict operational standards and contraindications: practitioners should operate with focused attention, select points accurately, maintain even heat, and guard against fainting, burns, and fire hazards. Forbidden areas include the apex beat region, major blood vessels, joints, the face, and the lumbosacral area of pregnant women. Moxibustion is contraindicated in high fever, convulsions, extreme debility, and in yin deficiency with internal heat and a rapid pulse. This article systematically presents the precautions and contraindications for safe moxibustion practice — an essential guide for standardized operation and accident prevention.
The Health-Preserving Effects of Acupuncture and Moxibustion
Moxibustion plays four core roles in health preservation: warming and unblocking the meridians to promote qi and blood circulation; cultivating and supplementing original qi to prevent disease — deemed the foremost method of preserving life; fortifying the spleen and stomach to strengthen the acquired foundation, with regular moxibustion at Zhongwan and Zusanli enhancing digestion and slowing aging; and raising yang qi to secure the body surface against external pathogens. With its warming nature, moxibustion unblocks the meridians, supplements deficiency, and harmonizes yin and yang, serving as a vital TCM approach to "preventing disease before it arises" and promoting daily wellness and longevity.
An Introduction to Acupuncture and Moxibustion Schools of Thought
This article systematically presents the major modern acupuncture academic schools in China: the Chengjiang School founded by Cheng Dan'an, which laid the foundation for modern acupuncture education and research; the Zheng Kuishan school, renowned in northwest China for its warm-tonifying and cool-draining needle techniques; the Guan family school, which developed special methods including tongue and ear acupuncture; the Zhuang medicine acupuncture system pioneered by Huang Jinming, centered on the "Three Paths and Two Routes" theory; Mongolian warm needling therapy integrating needling and moxibustion for osteoarticular disorders; the Huxiang school advocating the "meridian-viscera correlation" theory; and Jin's Three-Needle Therapy, celebrated for its simple, effective three-point combinations. Together, they represent the flourishing diversity of acupuncture scholarship.
Why Can Acupuncture and Moxibustion Treat Disease?
Acupuncture and moxibustion regulate the zang-fu organs and qi-blood through acupoints and meridians. Their therapeutic effects encompass four major aspects: (1) regulating the body's imbalances to restore physiological equilibrium; (2) enhancing immune function by increasing both specific and non-specific antibodies; (3) promoting blood circulation, removing stasis, and relieving pain; and (4) repairing damaged tissues, as evidenced in treating facial nerve paralysis and brachial plexus palsy. Needling excels at unblocking, while moxibustion warms and disperses — both adhere to the principle of “tonify deficiency, drain excess.”
What Is Needle Fainting (Yün Zhen)?
Needle fainting (yün zhen) is a transient cerebral ischemic reaction that may occur during acupuncture treatment, triggered by nervousness, hunger, constitutional weakness, improper body position, or overly forceful needling. Symptoms range from dizziness, blurred vision, nausea, and pallor to palpitations, sweating, and even sudden collapse. This article details its common causes, mechanisms, and emergency management: immediately withdraw all needles, help the patient lie flat with the head lowered, loosen clothing, ensure ventilation and warmth, and offer warm water. In more severe cases, needling Renzhong (GV26), Neiguan (PC6), or Zusanli (ST36), or moxibustion at Baihui (GV20), Guanyuan (CV4), or Shenque (CV8) can be applied. Recovery generally occurs within a few minutes.
How Does Acupuncture Produce Supplementation and Drainage Effects?
How does acupuncture, using only sterile stainless-steel needles without any medicinal substance, produce reinforcing (supplementation) or reducing (drainage) effects? This article explains the three core mechanisms: the body's functional state determining the direction of regulation, the specificity of acupoints with inherent tonifying or draining properties, and the practitioner's manipulation techniques with varying stimulation intensity. Together, these factors activate the body's intrinsic regulatory capacity to supplement deficiency and drain excess.
The Four Essential Elements of an Acupuncture Prescription
The Four Essential Elements of an acupuncture prescription constitute a complete clinical process: pattern differentiation based on TCM and acupuncture theory to establish the diagnosis; determining the treatment principle such as clearing heat and draining dampness or warming and tonifying the spleen and kidney; selecting and combining acupoints according to the pattern for synergistic effect; and specifying the concrete implementation — needling or moxibustion, supplementation or drainage method. These four interlocking, indispensable steps are the core guarantee of safe and effective acupuncture treatment.
Why can moxibustion treat diseases?
Mugwort (Ai Ye), warm in nature and fragrant, is not only a folk remedy for dispelling miasma during the Dragon Boat Festival but also the core herb in moxibustion for disease prevention and treatment. This article details its actions of warming the meridians, dispersing cold, stopping bleeding, and relieving pain, and systematically introduces various moxibustion methods — moxa stick, moxa cone, indirect moxibustion (ginger-partitioned, salt-partitioned), warming needle moxibustion, burning rush moxibustion, and blistering moxibustion — along with their indications, citing the classic text Yi Xue Ru Men: “Where herbs and needles fail, moxibustion must be used.”
The Basic Theory of Acupuncture and Moxibustion
Meridian theory, zang-fu pattern differentiation, and yin-yang five elements together constitute the holistic core of TCM theory. The meridians transport qi and blood and link the interior with the exterior; the zang-fu organs are the basis of physiology and pathology; yin-yang and five elements serve as the methodological foundation. Their integration provides a complete explanation of the body’s unity, the laws of disease evolution, and the deep mechanisms by which acupuncture regulates yin and yang, supports zheng qi, and expels pathogens.
Why can acupuncture treat diseases?
This article explores the fundamental mechanism of acupuncture, proposing the core hypothesis of “activating the body's latent functions” beyond conventional neuro-reflex and biochemical explanations. Based on the theory of the neurosegmental functional apparatus, it explains how acupuncture activates innate potential through meridian-based acupoint selection and needling sensation, achieving therapeutic and anti-aging effects, and highlights its unique advantage in intractable diseases and prospects for a new paradigm in medicine.
What is Acupuncture and Moxibustion?
Acupuncture and moxibustion are a combined therapeutic modality in TCM — a unique “treating internal conditions from the exterior” method. This article explains the principles of needling (filiform needle insertion with lifting, thrusting, and twirling techniques) and moxibustion (burning moxa wool for thermal stimulation), elucidates the treatment mechanism of unblocking meridians, regulating qi and blood, and balancing yin and yang through acupoints, and introduces clinical pattern differentiation and point prescription, alongside its cultural heritage significance.
Simple Tricks to Locate Acupoints Correctly
A comprehensive guide to the three core acupoint locating methods in TCM: the Anatomical Landmark Method (using fixed body markers), the Proportional Bone Cun Method (scaling based on bony landmarks), and the Finger Measurement Method (using one's own fingers as the unit). Step-by-step demonstrations using common points like Zusanli (ST36), Danzhong (CV17), and Shenque (CV8) are provided, along with simple locating tips and essential safety precautions for safe, effective acupressure.