Abdominal pain — above the umbilicus
StarEssentials of Chinese Acupuncture (Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing Colleges of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1980) — the standard prescriptions of the Chinese colleges.
Points
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Luo point of the Spleen; distal point regulating the spleen and stomach
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Local point above the navel
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Local point over the lower stomach
Needling Safety
Cited hazards for these points. Tick what applies to the patient to see the cautions that follow from it.
Treatment Principle
Disperse cold and relieve stagnation in the area above the navel by combining a distal Spleen point with local points.
Indications
Method
Acupuncture with moxibustion for accumulated cold; reducing method for food retention.
⚠ Cautions
Abdominal pain may be an acute abdomen: appendicitis, bowel obstruction, peritonitis or a perforated ulcer (and, in women, ectopic pregnancy or torsion) need urgent medical care; the book itself requires close observation and other treatment where needed. CV10 and ST24 lie over the stomach and transverse colon; needle to moderate depth only.
About
One of three location-based prescriptions the colleges give for abdominal pain, used when the pain sits above the navel.
Rationale
The book relates the region above the navel to the spleen, so SP4, the Spleen Luo point, is the distal choice. ST24 and CV10 work locally, and the three together adjust the spleen and stomach.
Clinical Notes
Choose the prescription by where the pain sits: above the navel (this one), around the navel, or in the lower abdomen. The book notes that abdominal pain accompanies many disorders of the abdominal and female pelvic organs, intestinal parasites and functional disorders, and warns specifically about the acute abdomen.
Sources
- Beijing College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, et al. Essentials of Chinese Acupuncture. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1980. Chapter III, Abdominal pain, p. 356–357.
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