Pangguangshu and Shenshu
Star膀胱俞、腎俞 (Pángguāngshū, Shènshū)
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
-
Back-Shu point of the Bladder; regulates the bladder and promotes urination.
Prone. Level with the second posterior sacral foramen, 1.5 cun lateral to the median sacral crest. Needle straight in to 0.8–1.0 cun, through the subcutaneous tissue and the thoracolumbar aponeurosis (the source names latissimus dorsi) into the erector spinae (sacrospinalis). Seek an aching numbness that spreads into the hip and along the leg.
- Pregnancy: contraindicated
-
Back-Shu point of the Kidney; tonifies Kidney yin and yang and consolidates essence.
Prone. At the level of the lower border of the L2 spinous process, 1.5 cun lateral to GV4 (the level opposite the umbilicus, CV8). Needle straight in to 0.5–1.0 cun. The source lists the layers as subcutaneous tissue, then quadratus lumborum and psoas major; the erector spinae and thoracolumbar fascia are crossed first. Seek an aching numbness that spreads into the hip and along the leg. The kidney lies deep to this level: stay within the stated depth.
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 BL23. No flag here does not mean no risk.
Treatment Principle
Strengthen the Kidney and the lower back, fortify yang and promote urination.
Indications
Method
Patient prone. BL28 is needled perpendicularly 0.8–1.0 cun and BL23 perpendicularly 0.5–1.0 cun, each until an aching numbness spreads into the hip and along the leg.
⚠ Cautions
The kidney lies deep to BL23 — do not exceed the stated depth.
About
The Back-Shu points of the Kidney and the Bladder, paired to strengthen the Kidney and lower back, fortify yang and promote urination. The indications are reproductive and urinary: spermatorrhoea, impotence, bed-wetting, painful urination, oedema, irregular periods, abnormal discharge and infertility.
Rationale
The Kidney and Bladder are an interior–exterior pair, and BL23 and BL28 are their respective Back-Shu points. BL23 supplements the Kidney's yin and yang and its control of water; BL28 regulates the Bladder's storage and discharge and clears damp-heat from the lower burner. Using both lets the organ and its partner be treated at once.
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 3, combination 16.
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