Dizziness and vertigo — liver yang rising
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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Back-Shu of the Kidney; strengthens the kidney (water) to nourish wood
Reinforcing method.
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Yuan-Source of the Kidney; tonifies kidney yin
Reinforcing method.
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Back-Shu of the Liver; calms liver yang
Reducing method.
- ⚠ Pneumothorax
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Ying-Spring of the Liver; drains the liver to settle rising yang
Reducing method.
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Gall Bladder point below the occiput; subdues yang and wind in the head
Reducing method.
- ⚠ Spinal cord / medulla
Needling Safety
Cited hazards for these points. Tick what applies to the patient to see the cautions that follow from it.
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BL18 Ganshu
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⚠ Pneumothorax has been reported after needling this point. Wu J, Hu Y, Zhu Y, Yin P, Litscher G, Xu S 2015, Table 1 (Pneumothorax associated with acupuncture)
-
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GB20 Fengchi
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⚠ Spinal cord / medulla risk: deep or misdirected insertion can enter the spinal canal. Wu J, Hu Y, Zhu Y, Yin P, Litscher G, Xu S 2015, Table 2 (Central nervous system injury associated with acupuncture); World Health Organization 1999, Section II §5.2 (Central nervous system), p. 25
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Treatment Principle
Nourish yin and calm yang, mainly through the Liver (Jueyin) and Kidney (Shaoyin) channels.
Indications
Method
Reinforcing and reducing are combined in one session: reinforce BL23 and KI3, reduce BL18, LV2 and GB20, with the balance chosen by the condition.
⚠ Cautions
Sudden vertigo with headache, double vision, slurred speech, limb weakness or inability to walk can be a posterior-circulation stroke and needs emergency assessment. Investigate persistent vertigo medically. BL18 overlies the lower thorax: needle obliquely and shallowly to avoid pneumothorax. Angle GB20 toward the tip of the nose, never toward the foramen magnum. Hypertension, if present, needs medical management.
About
The textbook's prescription for vertigo from liver yang surging upward because kidney water no longer nourishes liver wood.
Rationale
The book splits the five points by technique. Reinforcing BL23 and KI3 builds up the kidney, the root that should anchor the liver; reducing BL18, LV2 and GB20 brings down the liver yang that has risen into the head.
Clinical Notes
The book relates the condition to disturbed balance and lists Ménière's syndrome, labyrinthitis, otosclerosis, high or low blood pressure and neurasthenia. It also describes tapping with a cutaneous needle at GV20, Taiyang, Yintang and the Huatuo Jiaji points, and an ear-acupuncture option.
Sources
- Beijing College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, et al. Essentials of Chinese Acupuncture. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1980. Chapter III, Dizziness and vertigo, p. 338–340.
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