Balance Method for Knee Pain
StarDr. Richard Tan, Balance Method (elbow images knee).
Points
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Images the lateral knee (Stomach/Gallbladder territory)
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Images the medial knee (Spleen/Liver territory)
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Images the medial knee via the Shaoyin
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Images the posterior knee (Bladder territory)
Treatment Principle
The elbow images the knee. Choose the elbow point on the channel corresponding to the affected aspect of the knee, on the opposite arm.
Indications
Method
Map the pain: anterior and lateral knee to LI11; medial to LU5 or HT3; posterior to SI8. Palpate the corresponding elbow point on the opposite arm for tenderness, needle the tender one, and have the patient bend and straighten the knee.
⚠ Cautions
A knee that locks, gives way, or is acutely swollen after injury needs orthopaedic assessment.
About
The elbow-images-knee correspondence is the least controversial part of the Balance Method — it is simply the two limbs laid alongside one another.
Rationale
Local needling of a painful knee is often poorly tolerated and cannot be combined with movement. Working from the opposite elbow leaves the joint free, and the correspondence is anatomically direct: both are hinge joints at the midpoint of their limb, with the same channels running the same aspects.
Clinical Notes
Palpation decides. Whichever elbow point is tender is the one that will work, regardless of which one the channel map predicted — an unexpected tender point is information, not an error.
Sources
- Tan, Richard Teh-Fu. Acupuncture 1, 2, 3. San Diego, 2007.
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