Yanglingquan and Quchi
Star陽陵泉、曲池 (Yánglíngquán, Qūchí)
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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He-Sea point of the Gallbladder and Hui-Meeting point of the sinews; frees the sinews of the leg.
Seated with the knee bent to 90°, or supine: in the hollow in front of and below the head of the fibula. Insert perpendicularly toward SP9 1.0–1.5 cun into the peroneal muscles, seeking local aching and numbness travelling down the leg.
- ⚠ Nerve
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He-Sea point of the Large Intestine; clears heat and expels wind, and frees the arm.
Elbow flexed: in the hollow at the outer end of the cubital crease, midway between LU5 and the lateral epicondyle. Insert perpendicularly 1.0–1.5 cun (the book allows up to 2.0 cun in this entry) through the radial wrist extensors and brachioradialis, close to the radial nerve, to brachialis. Seek local aching and numbness radiating to the shoulder or fingers.
Needling Safety
Cited hazards for these points. Tick what applies to the patient to see the cautions that follow from it.
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GB34 Yanglingquan
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⚠ Nerve injury has been reported after needling this point. Wu J, Hu Y, Zhu Y, Yin P, Litscher G, Xu S 2015, Table 3 (Peripheral nerve injury)
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No cited needling data yet for LI11. No flag here does not mean no risk.
Treatment Principle
Clear heat and expel wind; free the channels and relieve pain.
Indications
Method
An upper and a lower He-Sea point: LI11 at the elbow perpendicularly 1.0–1.5 cun, GB34 below the knee perpendicularly 1.0–1.5 cun angled toward SP9. The book gives no retention time or moxibustion instructions for this pair.
⚠ Cautions
LI11 lies close to the radial nerve; stop manipulating once an electric sensation appears.
About
A pairing of an arm point and a leg point — the He-Sea points of the Large Intestine and the Gallbladder — for hemiplegia and weakness or numbness of the legs, and for wind-heat symptoms of the head and chest.
Rationale
LI11 (yangming) clears heat and expels wind from the upper body; GB34 (shaoyang) is the Hui-Meeting point of the sinews. One at the elbow and one at the knee, both He-Sea points of yang channels, they free the upper and lower limb together, which is why this is a standard structural pair for hemiplegia, while the heat-clearing action of LI11 addresses headache, tinnitus, cough and wheeze.
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 4, combination 15.
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