Guanyuan and Tianshu
Star關元、天樞 (Guānyuán, Tiānshū)
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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Front-Mu point of the Small Intestine; warms and supplements from the lower abdomen, especially with moxa.
Supine; have the patient pass urine first. Needle straight in to 0.5–1.0 cun; the needle traverses skin and subcutaneous tissue, then the transverse fascia and the median umbilical fold. Aim for an aching distension at the point that travels down to the genitals. Moxibustion may be applied here.
- Pregnancy: contraindicated
-
Front-Mu point of the Large Intestine; regulates the intestines and clears stagnation.
Supine. 2 cun lateral to the centre of the umbilicus. Needle straight in to 1.0–1.5 cun, through the subcutaneous tissue into rectus abdominis and on to the posterior layer of its sheath. An aching numbness should spread out towards the flank.
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 ST25. No flag here does not mean no risk.
Treatment Principle
Warm the middle burner (the Spleen–Stomach level of the trunk) and harmonise the Stomach, regulate qi and strengthen the Spleen.
Indications
Method
Patient supine with an empty bladder. CV4 is needled perpendicularly 0.5–1.0 cun until the aching distension reaches the genitals, and may be warmed with moxibustion; ST25 is needled perpendicularly 1.0–1.5 cun until an aching numbness spreads out to the flank.
⚠ Cautions
CV4 is contraindicated in pregnancy and ST25 calls for caution in pregnancy. Empty the bladder before needling CV4.
About
A lower-abdominal pairing that warms the middle burner, harmonises the Stomach and regulates the bowel. It covers both directions of intestinal dysfunction — constipation as well as diarrhoea and dysentery — along with vomiting, bloating, pain around the navel and poor digestion.
Rationale
ST25 and CV4 are the Front-Mu points of the Large and Small Intestines, so the pair addresses both halves of the bowel from the abdominal wall directly over them. CV4, a meeting point of the Ren Mai with the Spleen, Liver and Kidney channels, adds warmth and supplementation from below, while ST25 on the Stomach channel moves stagnation and regulates qi in the intestines; the middle burner is warmed from its root.
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 6.
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