Symptomatic Acupuncture Point Pairs and Trios
Acupuncture points are pretty powerful on their own. However, not unlike Dui Yao - the art of pairing two herbs together, acupoints are more powerful when paired together. A great example of this can be seen with Confluent Pairs - which can be used to augment a treatment in specific zones.
Whenever a patient tells me they are constipated, they are suffering from TMJ, or are experiencing night sweating, I immediately think of the following pairs and trios to treat a branch. I’m excited to share the top five that I use in the clinic with you.
Always remember to add acupoints to treat the root cause if necessary.
Hot flashes and night sweating: SI3, HT6, KD7
I know, I know…hot flashes and night sweating is due to Yin Deficiency, therefore REN4, KD6 and UB23 sound like a better trio. Plus, if you were to ask me what KD7 was good for I’d tell you it Tonifies Kidney-Yang! However, this trio helps a lot of my patients. SI3 Calms the Shen. HT6 Calms the Shen and Clears Heat from Deficiency. KD7 is a Mother acupoint and therefore Tonifies both Yin and Yang. If you get a chance to treat any peri-menopausal or menopausal women, they will tell you that not only do they experience Empty-Heat symptoms such as flushes of heat and sweating, but they also feel agitated. Calming an agitated Shen due to Deficiency-Heat is a good thing. SI3, HT6 and KD7 is the first treatment I try before anything else. It has a high success rate. When this treatment fails, I then switch to KD6.
A couple other things that I have noticed over the years is that patients can have a lot of Lung-Heat and Heart-Fire, and therefore suffer from a hot, flushed face. This is diagnosed by feeling the pulse and discovering the Lung and Heart positions go long into either thenar eminence. LU10 and HT8 are very helpful.
Lastly, some patients experience hot flashes during stressful times of their day. I had one patient who experienced the majority of their flashes in the first couple hours of work and never on their days off. They also experienced other Liver-Qi Stagnation signs and symptoms. By moving Liver-Qi with LV14 and LV3, the hot flashes dissipated.
TMJ: ST6, ST7, LI4
Full disclosure: this symptomatic trio is actually for locked jaw, but I started using it for TMJ with great success. ST6 and ST7 are on either ends of the masseter muscle - which make for a great local pair. LI4 is a Key/Command point for Head and Face. The reason it works so well for the face is for two related reasons:
The face has many Stomach acupoints (case in point: ST6 and ST7)
The Large Intestine Channel is paired with the Stomach Channel via Six-Channel Pairing
Most patients are clenching their teeth at night because of Liver-Qi Stagnation. Adding a LV3 to the treatment is a good idea when other Liver-Qi Stagnation signs and symptoms are present. As an aside, LI4 and LV3 makes up a combo called Four Gates which is used to ‘open all channels and collaterals’ - for when a patient tells us they have pain all over their body. Another symptomatic pair (okay - you get six now!) is LI4 and LV3 for convulsions of any kind.
Bloody Nose: DU23, LI4
A bloody nose can occur at any time for different reasons. Typically, in our line of work, bleeding occurs due to Heat (or Fire) due to Excess or Deficiency, or when the Spleen Qi is Deficient and not holding blood in the vessels. DU23 is 0.5cun above DU24 and opens the nose and Expels Wind, therefore it’s great for any nose problem at any time - whether an Exterior or Interior pattern. LI4 we’ve already discussed.
LU6 is a great acupoint that we can add to this treatment. LU6 is a Cleft acupoint. Yin Cleft acupoints are indicated for bleeding disorders (while Yang Cleft acupoints are more for pain; eg: ST34 for acute abdominal pain).
Lastly, we’ll want to remember that this groups of points is used for symptomatic relief and we will need to treat the root (Heat, or Spleen Not Holding Blood).
Suffocated Chest: REN17, PC6
A patient would likely not use the language of ‘suffocated chest’ to describe their sensations, instead telling us that they have pressure or an elephant sitting on their chest.
REN17 is the Front-Mu of Pericardium and Influential of Qi. It will open up the chest and Calm the Shen. PC6 will also open up the chest and Calm the Shen. Patients often experience problems falling asleep and heart palpitations when faced with the feelings of a suffocated chest, so adding HT7, SP10/UB17 and SP6 for Heart-Blood Deficiency can be helpful.
Constipation: TW6, KD6
Firstly, I love TW6 because it moves Qi in the Lower Warmer - which means it can be used for stagnation of any kind below the belly button (think: bowels, bladder and menstruation). Another pair (okay - you get seven now!!) is TW6 and GB34 for hypochondriac pain. It’s a very versatile acupoint.
There’s a really great article on functional constipation and KD6 is the most frequently mentioned acupoint for constipation found in common acupuncture texts. KD6 Tonfies Kidney-Yin. How I remember this combo is: TW6 helps move Qi in the Lower Warmer, while KD6 helps increase the water to float the boat (float the stool out).
TW6 and KD6 are my go-to for all constipation issues. I often add REN6 and ST25 to my prescription - Maciocia mentions these two as well. REN6 and ST36 are used as a symptomatic pair for abdominal distension (okay - you get eight now!!!). REN6, having the name of ‘Sea of Qi,’ will Tonify Qi and move Qi locally. ST25 is the Front-Mu of Large Intestine. ST36 is a Key/Command point for Abdomen and a He-Sea acupoint.
I know these powerful acupoint pairs and trios will serve you in the clinic as they’ve served me since 2007. Give them a try and allow the medicine to prove itself to you.