Balance Method — System 3: Bie Tong (Separate Connection)
Star臟腑別通 (Zàng Fǔ Bié Tōng)
Dr. Richard Tan, Balance Method, drawing on the classical Zang Fu Bie Tong doctrine.
Treatment Principle
Needle the Bie Tong partner of the affected channel, imaging the site of the complaint onto it.
Indications
Method
Pairings: Lung with Bladder; Spleen with Small Intestine; Heart with Gallbladder; Kidney with Triple Energiser; Liver with Large Intestine; Stomach with Pericardium. Usually applied on the opposite limb.
⚠ Cautions
Selects points; does not replace diagnosis.
About
The third correspondence system. Unlike Systems 1 and 2, Bie Tong is not derived from the channel names or the organ couplings but is a separate classical doctrine, transmitted in the Ming-dynasty literature and systematised for point selection by Tan.
Rationale
The Bie Tong pairings look arbitrary until they are used. The Lung–Bladder connection is the one that convinces most practitioners first: it is the reason a Lung-channel point on the forearm relieves Bladder-channel back pain, which is among the most reliably reproducible effects in the whole method. The Liver–Large Intestine pairing similarly explains why LI points move Liver-channel constraint.
Clinical Notes
The Lung–Bladder pairing makes this the system of first resort for low back and posterior leg pain: needle LU5 through LU9 territory on the opposite arm, imaging the level of the pain, and have the patient move the back.
Sources
- Tan, Richard Teh-Fu. Acupuncture 1, 2, 3. San Diego, 2007.
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