Balance Method for Neck Pain and Stiff Neck
StarDr. Richard Tan, Balance Method.
Points
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Same-name Taiyang balance; the classical point for acute torticollis
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Images the neck on the Bladder channel by the reversed limb image
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Images the cervical spine
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For lateral neck pain on the Shaoyang
Treatment Principle
Identify whether the stiffness is central and posterior (Bladder/Du) or lateral (Gallbladder), and balance accordingly on the opposite side.
Indications
Method
Needle the chosen point on the opposite side with strong stimulation, then ask the patient to rotate, flex and side-bend the neck slowly through the restricted range while the needle is retained.
⚠ Cautions
Neck pain after trauma, or with radiating arm symptoms, dizziness on rotation, or any neurological sign, needs assessment before mobilisation.
About
Acute torticollis is one of the presentations where a distal point with movement gives results that local needling rarely matches.
Rationale
The neck is guarded and often too tender to needle locally in the acute phase. Balancing from the opposite wrist or ankle removes that obstacle and, more importantly, permits the active movement that restores range.
Clinical Notes
Measure rotation before and after in degrees or against a landmark — 'can you look over your shoulder at the door frame?' — rather than by pain score. Master Tung's Zheng Jin group on the Achilles tendon addresses the same problem through the tendon-images-spine correspondence and is worth knowing as an alternative.
Sources
- Tan, Richard Teh-Fu. Acupuncture 1, 2, 3. San Diego, 2007.
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