Yinshi and Fengshi
Star陰市、風市 (Yīnshì, Fēngshì)
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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Stomach-channel point above the knee; expels cold and damp from the knee and leg.
Seated with the knee flexed: on the line from the anterior superior iliac spine to the lateral edge of the patella, 3 cun (four finger-breadths) above the upper lateral border of the patella. Insert perpendicularly 1.0–1.5 cun into vastus lateralis, seeking local aching and numbness that radiates to the knee.
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Gallbladder-channel point on the lateral thigh; expels wind and damp and relieves itching.
Standing with the arms hanging naturally: on the midline of the lateral thigh where the tip of the middle finger rests, 7 cun above the popliteal crease, between vastus lateralis and biceps femoris. Insert perpendicularly 1.5–2.5 cun, reaching vastus intermedius, seeking a local aching, numb feeling.
Treatment Principle
Expel wind and damp; regulate qi and blood.
Indications
Method
Both thigh points are needled perpendicularly — ST33 1.0–1.5 cun with the knee flexed, GB31 1.5–2.5 cun (located standing). The book gives no retention time or moxibustion instructions for this pair.
About
Two thigh points, on the Stomach and Gallbladder channels, for cold, pain, weakness and numbness of the leg and knee, and for itching all over the body.
Rationale
ST33 sits on the yangming channel above the knee and is used to drive out cold and damp from the joint; GB31, whose name means 'wind market', is on the shaoyang channel of the lateral thigh and is the chief leg point for wind, including wind in the skin that produces itch. Pairing a yangming and a shaoyang point covers the front and side of the thigh and moves qi and blood through the whole leg.
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 13.
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