Balance Method for Shoulder Pain
StarDr. Richard Tan, Balance Method (System 1, same-name: Large Intestine with Stomach).
Points
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The classical distal point for frozen shoulder; images the shoulder on the Yangming of the leg
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Images the upper arm and shoulder region
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Added for lateral shoulder pain on the Shaoyang, and as the Hui-Meeting of the sinews
Treatment Principle
Identify which channel the shoulder pain sits on, then balance it from the corresponding leg channel on the opposite side.
Indications
Method
Locate the pain precisely: anterior and on LI territory takes the Stomach channel; lateral on Triple Energiser territory takes the Gallbladder; posterior on Small Intestine territory takes the Bladder. Needle the imaging point on the opposite leg, then move the shoulder.
⚠ Cautions
A shoulder that cannot be moved passively either, or that follows significant trauma, needs imaging before manual mobilisation.
About
The channel identification is the whole of the work here. 'Shoulder pain' is three or four different presentations depending on which channel it occupies, and each takes a different balancing channel.
Rationale
ST38 for frozen shoulder predates Tan and is in the standard textbooks; the Balance Method explains why it works and, more usefully, tells you what to do when the pain is not on the Yangming. That generalisation — from one remembered point to a rule that covers the whole joint — is the contribution.
Clinical Notes
Needle deeply at ST38 with strong stimulation, and have the patient actively raise the arm throughout. Passive movement by the practitioner is much less effective than the patient's own effort.
Sources
- Tan, Richard Teh-Fu. Acupuncture 1, 2, 3. San Diego, 2007.
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