Tianzhu and Kunlun
Star天柱、崑崙 (Tiānzhù, Kūnlún)
Modern Chinese point-pair (对穴) teaching, as compiled by Guo Changqing and colleagues at the School of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.
Points
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Upper Bladder-channel point at the nape; expels wind and benefits the head, neck and eyes.
Seated with the head bent forward, or prone: on the nape in the hollow at the lateral edge of trapezius, level with the upper border of the C2 spinous process, 1.3 cun lateral to GV15. Insert perpendicularly or obliquely 0.5–0.8 cun toward rectus capitis posterior major, seeking a local aching, numb feeling.
-
Jing-River point of the Bladder; frees the whole channel and draws excess from the head downward.
Seated with the foot on the floor: behind the lateral malleolus, in the hollow between its tip and the Achilles tendon. Insert perpendicularly, directed toward KI3, 0.5–1.5 cun, reaching peroneus brevis; the aching numbness should spread to the heel.
- Pregnancy: contraindicated
Needling Safety
Cited hazards for these points. Tick what applies to the patient to see the cautions that follow from it.
No cited needling data yet for BL10. No flag here does not mean no risk.
Treatment Principle
Benefit the head and eyes; free the channel and its collaterals.
Indications
Method
BL10 is needled perpendicularly or obliquely 0.5–0.8 cun with the head flexed forward or the patient prone; BL60 perpendicularly toward KI3 0.5–1.5 cun. The book gives no retention time or moxibustion instructions for this pair.
⚠ Cautions
At BL10 never angle the needle medially and upward toward the foramen magnum — the medulla lies beneath; keep to 0.5–0.8 cun. BL60 is contraindicated in pregnancy because it is classically used to promote labour.
About
The top and bottom of the Bladder channel's course along the back: a nape point and an ankle point for headache, dizziness, stiff neck, blocked nose and seizures, and for pain of the lumbosacral region.
Rationale
The Bladder channel runs from the inner eye over the head, down the nape and back, and along the leg to the lateral foot. BL10 treats its upper section — head, eyes, nose and neck — locally; BL60, the Jing-River point, is a distal point that frees the whole channel and draws excess down from the head. The combination of a local and a far point on one channel also covers the lower back that lies between them.
Sources
- Guo Changqing (ed.). Acupuncture of Acupoint Combinations: Quick Lookups. Daylesford: Heart Space Publications, 2020 (English edition; © China Science and Technology Press). ISBN 978-0-6489215-5-4. Chapter 5, combination 5.
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