The Quickening Points
A Little Lit Review
As an ongoing effort to understand how one might approach treating various pathomechanisms with acupuncture, I have been re-examining the actions ascribed to acupuncture points. Setting aside discussion of the historicity and reliability of these actions, I find it useful to at least consider them among numerous other data points when composing point prescriptions.
One of the most commonly encountered pathomechanisms in clinic is blood stasis. I think most acupuncturists would agree that, for a modality that is largely based on moving qì and blood, points which are said to be specifically blood-moving are few and far between. Meanwhile, the materia medica is loaded with blood-regulating medicinals of varying strengths, from mild to vigorous. As Deadman & Al-Khafaji (1994) wrote:
"One of the things that strikes the acupuncturist who studies Chinese herbal medicine is the great array of herbs, prescriptions and protocols which treat disorders of blood. By comparison, acupuncture may seem inadequate, and it is sometimes said that there are only three or four acupuncture points which are important in the treatment of blood disorders."
However, the article that the above quote comes from yields little specific data on blood stasis (bleeding disorders are better represented) and is mostly focused on indications.
So I decided to do some data mining. Ultimately, the objective is to find points that 1) can be used in a more generalized way to move blood, an analog to something like Chuān Xiōng, which is a reliable, multi-purpose blood-invigorating medicinal, rather than something more indication-specific; and 2) can be used in a root treatment, in other words, looking for distal points with five-phase or other associations. This means it could be used either in a more conventional or a more community-style context, both of which are part of my current practice.
The Search
First, I searched the Chinese Medicine Database (CMDB). I used a variety of terms to search the “Action” field. Among the terms that yielded some results were “blood circulation”, “invigorate”, “stasis”, “collaterals”; Wiseman terminology did not appear to be compatible with the database search feature.
Then I reviewed Ellis et al. (2004) - here abbreviated FCA, for the title Fundamentals of Chinese Acupuncture. One term I looked for was “quicken” (活 huó), which Brand & Wiseman (2008) list as a moderate-strength blood moving action in the materia medica. Since the term often appears linked with the connecting (a.k.a. network, a.k.a. collateral) vessels (as in 活絡 huó luò, “quicken the connecting vessels”) and the connecting vessels themselves are associated with blood in herbal medicine and even in acupuncture (see the discussion of “deep connecting channels” in Maciocia, 2006), I took it that “quickens connecting vessels” or “frees connecting vessels (通絡 tōng luò, tōng sometimes rendered as ‘unblocking’)” most likely refers to a blood-moving action. Another term, “harmonize blood” (和血 hé xuè) indicating a mild blood moving action, appeared occasionally as well.
One problem that then arises with this inclusion is the sheer number of points in FCA that have the action “quickens connecting vessels”; many if not most of them are seldom used except for local indications, and I was looking for more of a general blood-quickening action. Since every point treats local indications, then, how can one tell the difference? On the one hand, limiting the search to points with more general indications – namely what are sometimes referred to as “command points”, i.e., they also have a five-phase designation or some other such as luò points, xì-cleft points, and so forth. On the other, comparing these command points with those nearby: why does SI6 quicken connecting vessels, but SI4, SI5, and SI7 do not?
Finally, I consulted Deadman et al. (2007), whose JCM article seemed to come up a bit short in blood-movers. I found there was a reason for this: they were comparatively frugal with granting blood-stasis-related actions (and really, actions in general, for the most part). There are only a few points listed below (under the abbreviation MOA, for Manual of Acupuncture) that are unequivocal in ascribing actions like “invigorates blood, dispels stasis”. To broaden the field a bit, I included some less specific “regulate blood” actions. Others, such as “activate the channel” were too vague and not specific enough to blood-moving, besides being applicable to the majority of points listed in the book.
I decided to leave it at those sources. I thought about using O’Connor & Bensky (1981), however, the original source of that volume was listed in the bibliography of Ellis et al. (2004), so the actions in the former had already been summarized in the latter text. Other readily available sources (i.e., books in my clinic, online sources) were generally not well referenced and, while interesting to consider, could not be considered to be more than the opinion of a particular author.
The Results
This is in no way any kind of authoritative statement regarding the channel points that are useful for blood stasis. It is really just data from a few sources, filtered and annotated and, well, mulched.
Search Results by Channel
Sources:
CMDB: Chinese Medicine Database search (done January 25, 2024)
FCA: Fundamentals of Chinese Acupuncture (Ellis et al., 2004)
MOA: A Manual of Acupuncture (Deadman et al. 2007)
Hand Tàiyīn Lung Channel
LU5: Removes obstructions from the channels & collaterals [CMDB]
LU7: Removes obstructions from the channels & collaterals [CMDB] / Frees connecting vessels [FCA]
LU9: Invigorates blood circulation, Removes obstructions from the channels & collaterals [CMDB] / Regulates the 100 vessels [MOA]
[Mulch comments: LU7 FTW! I am constantly needling this point, especially for its surface opening and outward venting capabilities, but also in conjunction with treating the rèn mài. With its ability to free the surface as well as deeper structures, it is not hard to include the deep connecting vessels along with them. LU5 only showed up with one source; the action “removes obstructions from the channels & collaterals” is somewhat vague and could be a reference to other types of obstruction, i.e. wind-damp, but I decided to include it anyway. I have noted that some Japanese practitioners would use LU5 in blood stasis patterns. LU9 is the meeting point for the blood vessels.]
Hand Yángmíng Large Intestine Channel
LI4: Removes obstructions from the channels & collaterals [CMDB] / Quickens connecting vessels [FCA]
LI6: Frees connecting vessels [FCA]
LI9: Removes obstructions from the channels & collaterals [CMDB] / Quickens connecting vessels [FCA]
LI10: Removes obstructions from the channels & collaterals [CMDB] / Frees connecting vessels [FCA] / Regulates qì & blood [MOA]
LI11: Removes obstructions from the channels & collaterals [CMDB] / Regulates qì & blood [MOA]
[Mulch comments: LI9 and LI10 are important in my practice to treat shoulder pain especially, which is frequently wind-damp but can also be due to blood stasis (LI15 also shows up in searches as a blood-moving point, but it was outside of the limitations of this particular search). LI4 is no surprise here.]
Foot Yángmíng Stomach Channel
ST34: Promotes blood circulation [CMDB] / Quickens connecting vessels [FCA]
ST36: Disperses stasis [CMDB] / Breaks thoracic blood stasis [FCA]
ST37: Disperses stasis [CMDB]
ST39: Disperses stasis [CMDB]
[Mulch comments: The last two points are included in the Sea of Blood point category. As Deadman & Al-Khafaji (1994) point out, xì-cleft points are often related to blood disorders including blood stasis, though I tend to think of ST34 for stomach or knee pain primarily.]
Foot Tàiyīn Spleen Channel
SP4: Regulates sea of blood [FCA]
SP6: Regulates blood chamber [FCA] / Invigorates blood [MOA]
SP7: Quickens connecting vessels [FCA]
SP8: Rectifies blood [FCA] / Invigorates blood [MOA]
SP10: Removes stasis [CMDB] / Regulates blood [FCA] / Invigorates blood, dispels stasis [MOA]
[Mulch comments: These results are mostly expected. SP7 is the only surprise, largely because it is so seldom used. When I was learning acupuncture, SP6 was sometimes called the Dāng Guī (Rx Angelicae Sinensis) point, because of its uses in both blood deficiency and blood stasis problems as well as its status as an intersection for the liver and spleen. It also intersects the kidney channel, of course, and so its scope could be said to be a little broader than Dāng Guī. SP10 is found in all three sources searched and even gets an unequivocal nod as a blood stasis point by MOA. I treat spleen patterns a lot and I lean heavily on all of these points – with the exception of SP7.]
Hand Shàoyīn Heart Channel
HT4: Quickens connecting vessels [FCA]
HT6: Regulates heart blood [MOA]
HT7: Promotes blood circulation [CMDB]
[Mulch comments: There doesn’t appear to be consensus on any one of the points here between the three sources. HT7 by virtue of being the source point would benefit heart qì and yang, thus promoting circulation. HT6 is the xì-cleft point. HT4 is the metal point so related to the acrid flavor, which effuses and scatters.]
Hand Tàiyáng Small Intestine Channel
SI1: Quickens connecting vessels [FCA]
SI6: Quickens connecting vessels [FCA]
Foot Tàiyáng Bladder Channel
UB39: Quickens connecting vessels [FCA]
UB40: Quickens connecting vessels [FCA]
UB60: Rectifies uterine blood stagnation [FCA]
UB61: Quickens connecting vessels [FCA]
UB63: Quickens connecting vessels [FCA]
UB65: Quickens connecting vessels [FCA]
UB67: Quickens blood [FCA]
Foot Shàoyīn Kidney Channel
KD4: Harmonizes blood [FCA]
[Mulch comments: All of the results for these three channels comes from Ellis et al., 2004. The foot tàiyáng channel of course has one of the primary blood stasis points, UB17, but as a back point it is not in the scope of this particular search. KD4 is quite an interesting point that I use frequently nowadays; I may write a post on it, so I will reserve comment until that time.]
Hand Juéyīn Pericardium Channel
PC4: Disperses stasis [CMDB] / Invigorates blood, dispels stasis [MOA]
PC5: Quickens connecting vessels [FCA]
[PC4 is a point I posted my thoughts on some time back. Yuè Hánzhèn (Yue, 2021) listed “bound blood” with clotting for PC5’s treatment scope, which is a pretty straightforward indication of blood stasis as well. It is somewhat surprising that these are the only two points from the pericardium channel that seem to come up in this search; I associate the pericardium closely with blood stasis patterns.]
Hand Shàoyáng Triple Burner Channel
TB5: Quickens connecting vessels [FCA]
TB8: Quickens connecting vessels [FCA]
TB9: Quickens connecting vessels [FCA]
Foot Shàoyáng Gallbladder Channel
GB35: Quickens blood [FCA]
GB38: Quickens connecting vessels [FCA]
[Mulch comments: As can be seen, most of the results for this search have come from Ellis et al., 2004. I needle the shàoyáng channels a lot – probably at least one point on the majority of patients – and TB5 is a frequent choice. Given its range of exterior and interior indications, its tropism for headaches and its location on the shàoyáng, the addition of quickening action moves TB5 close to being a Chuān Xiōng analog. GB35 is kind of overlooked, in my opinion. I use it fairly often and I’m not surprised to see it listed as quickening blood overall, given its name, Yáng Jiāo (Yáng Intersection, which echoes the name for SP6) and its status as a xì-cleft point.]
Foot Juéyīn Liver Channel
LR2: Courses vessels, Quickens connecting vessels [FCA]
LR3: Courses connecting vessels, Quickens blood [FCA]
LR4: Frees connecting vessels [FCA]
LR6: Frees connecting vessels [FCA] / Regulates blood [MOA]
LR7: Frees connecting vessels [FCA]
LR8: Quickens connecting vessels [FCA] / Invigorates blood [MOA]
[Mulch comments: This is a channel where you would expect to see some blood-moving actions. I use LR2 at least as much as LR3, and I have written about LR8 before. LR7 is, I suspect, more about local indications, though I use it for medial knee pain in liver patterns. LR6 is one of those points that one wonders why it isn’t referenced more often. But that particular stretch of territory along the medial tibia is already stacked up with go-to points, so you figure there’d be a few Jan Bradys in there.]
Conclusion
Point actions were part of my acupuncture education from the beginning. The reasoning behind point actions appears partly based on historical indication, and partly on particular categories that the points are traditionally classified in; there may be other criteria as well, such as internal connections in the channel system. The consensus, as we can see from this small literature review, is nowhere near as uniform as it is for the materia medica. Still, I think it is useful to collect and analyze material like this, if only, as I said earlier, to better inform ourselves about options in point selection. I’ve got a few other pathomechanisms that I’ve started a similar process with, so we’ll see what comes of it.
As always, thanks for reading.
Note: this publication is for information purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Please seek the opinion of a health care professional for any specific medical issues you may have.
References
Brand, E., & Wiseman, N. (2008). Concise Chinese Materia Medica. Paradigm Publications.
Deadman, P., & Al-Khafaji, M. (1994). Some acupuncture points which treat disorders of blood. Journal of Chinese Medicine 46, 21-29.
Deadman, P., Al-Khafaji, M., & Baker, K. (2007). A manual of acupuncture, 2nd ed. Journal of Chinese Medicine Publications.
Ellis, A., Wiseman, N., Boss, K., & Cleaver, J. (2004). Fundamentals of Chinese acupuncture (Revised ed). Paradigm Publications.
Maciocia, G. (2006). The channels of acupuncture: Clinical use of the secondary channels and eight extraordinary vessels. Elsevier Health Sciences.
O'Connor, J., & Bensky, D. (1981). Acupuncture: A comprehensive text. Eastland Press.
The Chinese Medicine Database. http://cm-db.com/ (Retrieved January 25, 2024)
Yue, H. (2021). Explanations of the channels and points, vol. 2 (M. Brown, Trans.). Purple Cloud Press