Tianshu and Shangjuxu
Star天樞、上巨虛 (Tiānshū, Shàngjùxū)
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 Large Intestine; regulates the intestines from the abdomen.
Patient supine: on the abdomen 2 cun lateral to the centre of the umbilicus. Insert perpendicularly 1.0–1.5 cun through the subcutaneous layer and rectus abdominis and the posterior layer of its sheath, seeking local aching and numbness that spreads toward the side of the abdomen.
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Lower He-Sea point of the Large Intestine; regulates the intestines from the leg.
Seated with the knee bent, or supine: 6 cun below ST35, one finger-breadth lateral to the anterior crest of the tibia. Insert perpendicularly 1.0–2.0 cun through tibialis anterior toward extensor hallucis longus, seeking a local aching, numb feeling.
Treatment Principle
Regulate the Spleen and Stomach; free the channel and relieve pain.
Indications
Method
ST25 is needled perpendicularly 1.0–1.5 cun on both sides of the umbilicus and ST37 perpendicularly 1.0–2.0 cun on the leg. The book gives no retention time or moxibustion instructions for this pair.
⚠ Cautions
Use ST25 with caution in pregnancy. Acute abdominal pain needs medical assessment to exclude a surgical cause; acupuncture is not a substitute for that.
About
A front-and-below pairing for the bowel: the Large Intestine's Front-Mu point beside the umbilicus with its lower He-Sea point on the leg, for diarrhoea, constipation, distension and acute abdominal conditions.
Rationale
ST25 is the Front-Mu point of the Large Intestine and ST37 its lower He-Sea point. Combining an organ's Mu point with its lower He-Sea point is a standard way of treating the six fu organs, since the lower He-Sea points act directly on the fu. Both lie on the Stomach channel, which ties the pair to the Spleen and Stomach as a whole.
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 2.
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