Formulas & Needles
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.