Balance Method — Systems 5 and 6: The Reversed Images
StarDr. Richard Tan, Balance Method.
Treatment Principle
Take the pairing of System 1 or System 2, but reverse the direction of the anatomical image before choosing the point.
Indications
Method
In the direct image the shoulder corresponds to the hip, the elbow to the knee and the wrist to the ankle. In the reversed image the shoulder corresponds to the ankle, the elbow still to the knee, and the wrist to the hip. Systems 5 and 6 apply that reversal to the System 1 and System 2 pairings respectively.
⚠ Cautions
Selects points; does not replace diagnosis.
About
Systems 5 and 6 are not new channel pairings. They are the pairings of Systems 1 and 2 applied through the opposite anatomical image, and they exist because a single mapping between the arm and the leg does not always put a usable point where it is needed.
Rationale
The limbs can be laid alongside one another in two ways — shoulder against hip, or shoulder against ankle. Both correspondences are used in the classical literature, and neither is exclusively correct. Having both available doubles the number of candidate points for any complaint, which matters most when the direct image lands on a point that is contraindicated, inaccessible or simply not tender.
Clinical Notes
In practice, palpate. Whichever image puts a tender point under your finger is the one to use for that patient on that day. Tan taught the systems as a way of generating candidates, with tenderness deciding between them.
Sources
- Tan, Richard Teh-Fu. Acupuncture 1, 2, 3. San Diego, 2007.
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