Classifications:
Jing-River and Metal Point
Mother point of the Kidney channel
Trigger point (Melzack, Stillwell & Fox, 1977,
Trigger Points and Acupuncture Points for Pain: Correlations and Implications, Pain 3, p3-23)
Location:
On the medial aspect of the lower leg, in the depression 2 cun superior to Taixi Kid-3, on the anterior border of the Achilles tendon.
Needling:
Perpendicular insertion 0.5 - 1 cun
Classical Needling:
It is needled to a depth of three fen, (the needle) is retained for a duration of three exhalations, and it is moxaed with five cones. (Huangfu Mi 皇甫謐, 3rd Century,
Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing 針灸甲乙經)
TCM Actions:
Benefits the Kidneys
Regulates the water passages and treats oedema
Regulates sweating
Drains Damp and clears Damp-heat
Strengthens the lumbar region
TCM Indications:
- Oedema, the five types of oedema, swelling of the four limbs with drum distension, swelling of the lower limb, difficult urination, dark urine, the five types of painful urinary dysfunction, blood painful urinary dysfunction.
- Spontaneous sweating, night sweating, ceaseless sweating, fever with absence of sweating.
- Diarrhoea, distension of the abdomen with borborygmus, dystenteric disorder, pus and blood in the stool, heavy feeling in the rectum after diarrhoea, bleeding haemorrhoids, constipation.
- Dry tongue and parched mouth, dry tongue with Stomach heat, curled tongue with inability to speak, pain in the nostrils, nosebleed, tooth decay, withered yellow complexion, propensity to anger with incessant talking, propensity to laughter.
- Seminal emission, menorrhagia, uterine bleeding.
- Pain of the lumbar region, lumbar pain due to qi stagnation, atrophy disorder of the leg, cold legs, pulseless syndrome, cold and hot bones.
Neuroanatomy:
Superficial Innervation: Saphenous nerve (L3 - L4)
Dermatome Segment: S1
Deeper Structures: Tibial nerve (L5 - S2)
Trigger Point Associations:
Muscle:
Soleus
Myotome Innervation:
Tibial nerve (L5 - S2)
Pain Referral Pattern:
Radiating down the Achilles tendon to the calcaneus at the heel of the foot
Indications:
Tendon and muscle strains of the lower leg
; Periostitis of the calcaneus
Martial Applications & Effects of Injury:
Striking damages the
Kidney
Jing causing an immediate rising of Heat into the head which can cause knock out or extreme nausea and possible damage later in life. It also affects the Lungs, draining energy from the body (Montaigue,
Dim Mak Locations,
Taijiworld.com).
Major Combinations:
- Oedema:
Fuliu Kid-7 with Shuifen Ren-9
(Anon, nd, Shi Si Jing Yao Xue Zhu Zhi Ge, 十四經要穴主治歌, Song of the Points of the Fourteen Primary Channels).
- Oedema with Qi distention and fullness:
Fuliu Kid-7 with Shenque Ren-8
(Yang Jizhou, 杨继洲, 1601: Zhen Jiu Da Cheng, 針灸大成, Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
- Drum distention:
Fuliu Kid-7 with Gongsun Sp-4, Zhongfeng Liv-4, Taibai Sp-3 and Shuifen Ren-9
(Wang Weiyi, 王惟一, 1026: Tong Ren Zhen Jiu Shu Xue Tu Jing, 銅人針灸俞穴圖經, Illustrated Classic of Acupuncture Points on the Bronze Man).
- Spontaneous sweating:
Needle Fuliu Kid-7 and Dazhui Du-14 and moxa Gaohuangshu Bl-43
(Wu Yiding, 吳亦鼎, 1853: Shen Jiu Jing Lun, 神灸經論, Principles of Divine Moxibustion).
- Little sweating:
Reinforce LI-4 and reduce Fuliu Kid-7
(Yang Jizhou, 杨继洲, 1601: Zhen Jiu Da Cheng, 針灸大成, Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
- Copious sweating:
First reduce LI-4, then reinforce Fuliu Kid-7
(Yang Jizhou, 杨继洲, 1601: Zhen Jiu Da Cheng, 針灸大成, Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
- Absence of sweating:
Fuliu Kid-7 with Quze Pc-3, Yuji Lu-10, Shaoze SI-1, Shangxing Du-23, Ququan Liv-8, Kinlun Bl-60, Xiaxi GB-43 and Zuqiaoyin GB-44
(Yang Jizhou, 杨继洲, 1601: Zhen Jiu Da Cheng, 針灸大成, Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
- Cold Damage with absence of sweating:
Reduce Fuliu Kid-7 and Neiting St-44, reinforce Hegu LI-4 and Bailaio Ex-HN-15
(Yang Jizhou, 杨继洲, 1601: Zhen Jiu Da Cheng, 針灸大成, Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
- Drooling:
Fuliu Kid-7 with Rangu Kid-2
(Wang Zhizhong, 王執中, 1220: Zhen Jiu Zi Sheng Jing, 針灸資生經, Classic of Supporting Life with Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
- Bloody painful urinary dysfunction:
Moxa Fuliu Kid-7 and the Dantian Ren-6
(Sun Simiao, 孫思邈, 625: Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang, 備急千金要方, Essential Prescriptions Worth A Thousand Gold).
- Red and white leucorrhoea:
Seven cones of moxa on Fuliu Kid-7 and Qugu Ren-2 and one hundred cones on Taichong Liv-3, Guanyuan Ren-4, Sanyinjiao Sp-6 and Tianshu St-25
(Liao Runhong, 廖润鸿, 1874: Zhen Jiu Ji Cheng, 針灸集成, Compilation of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
- Pain of the lumbar spine:
Fuliu Kid-7 with Weizhong Bl-40
(Yang Jizhou, 杨继洲, 1601: Zhen Jiu Da Cheng, 針灸大成, Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
- Coldness and pain of the bone marrow:
Fuliu Kid-7 with Dazhu Bl-11, Xuanzhong GB-39, Shenmai Bl-62, Ludui St-45 and Shenshu Bl-23
(Wang Weiyi, 王惟一, 1026: Tong Ren Zhen Jiu Shu Xue Tu Jing, 銅人針灸俞穴圖經, Illustrated Classic of Acupuncture Points on the Bronze Man).
- Breast Pain:
Fuliu Kid-7 with Taichong Liv-3
(Haungfu Mi, 皇甫謐, 282: Zhen Jiu Jia Yi Jing, 針灸甲乙經, Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
I Ching Hexagram: ䷻
Hexagram attributions are my own based with an explanation given in the notes below.
Notes:
One of the foremost points for strengthening the kidney functions of controlling water balance, including oedema, sweating and urination. Hence it is indicated for all problems of Kidney Yin Deficiency, whereas
Taixi Kid-3 has stronger indication where there is also an element of Yang Deficiency.
In five element acupuncture this point is reinforced to tonify Kidney deficiencies.
Su Wen Ch. 41 describes lower back ache with pain pulling on the breast and unclear eyes as being due to disease in the "Shining Yang". In severe cases they bend backwards and their tongue curls up and they cannot speak. It recommends piercing twice above the inner ankle, in front of the large sinew behind the
Taiyin. Ma Shi's commentary describes this as an alternative name for this point and Wang Bing equates it with the
Yin Qiao Mai.
Ling Shu Ch. 6 suggests piercing the
Jing points of the
Yin channels if a disease is in the
Yin of the
Yang realm (e.g. the sinews and bones). This would mean using this point to treat disorders of the hip, knee and ankle.
Ch. 7 then suggests using paired needles either side of the tendon to remove a tendon blockage illness, and straight needling to the bone for bone blockage illness. This could be interpreted as using these technique on this point, on either side of the achilles in incidences of injury to this tendon or straight in cases of bone injury, or using them as local techniques while Ch. 6 is a distal point suggestion.
Ling Shu Ch. 22, On Mania and Madness, advises that when Wind invasion and counterflow causes the limbs to become swollen, profuse sweating, a feeling of cold and to be irritated when hungry, then blood is removed from the outer and inner sections of the hand
Taiyin and foot
Shaoyin and
Yangming. If the flesh is cool then it is be done through the
Ying-Spring points and if the bones are cold it is to be done through the
Jing-Well and
Jing-River points.
Ling Shu Ch. 44, On the
Qi Moving in Accordance with the Norms, indicates that the
Jing-River points should be pierced in late summer or when the disease affects the voice. The seasonal aspect should not be interpreted literally as it describes the voice and musical notes as "controlled by late summer". It also describes the morning, afternoon, evening and night cycle of the day to be like the four seasons of the year although late summer is not included in this comparison but presumably has some correlate (maybe late afternoon).
Shang Han Lun, line 292, advises using seven cones of moxa on
Shaoyin if the pulse fails to arrive normally in a
Shaoyin pattern with symptoms of vomiting and diarrhoea, absence of counterflow but presence of heat effusion. No points are given but Ke Qin suggests this point and
Yongquan Kid-1 while Zhang Nan suggests
Taixi Kid-3 (Mitchell, Ye and Wiseman, 1999,
Shang Han Lun).
In Tung acupuncture this point is called
Guangming, Bright Light (77.28), and is indicated for all eye disorders, especially if combined with
Shui Xiang, Tung's name for
Taixi Kid-3 (Chu, 2015).
In Tibetan medicine:
Bleeding point (AMNH,
Tibetan Medical Paintings)
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There are no direct classical attributions of the points to I Ching hexagrams in the Nei Jing or other classical sources to my knowledge, but rather it is implied within the schema of the elements so the ones given are my own and a work in progress. Other sources may differ.
They are based on the channel having the outer trigram and the point having the inner as the point is internal to the channel itself.
- Channels are assigned the trigram of their element and cardinal direction
- Ren and Du are assigned ☰ Qian, Heaven and ☷ Kun, Earth respectively
- Earth is assigned to ☶ Gen, Mountain
- Pericardium and San Jiao are assigned to ☴ Xun, Wind
This places the regular channels associated with the four directions at their four cardinal points and means that every channel's complement is also its Six Division pair. It is almost identical to the I Ching Acupuncture arrangement by
Dr Chen but with Shaoyang/Jueyin pairs reversed so that the Wood organs are in the cardinal east and Ministerial Fire is associated with Wind, as Wood turns to Fire.
The points themselves are arranged by:
- Elemental points are assigned their element
- Source points are attributed ☷ Kun, Earth, for Zang and ☰ Qian, Heaven, for Fu, as Yin and Yang are the Source of the Zang and Fu respectively
- Luo points are attributed the opposite as they connect with their Yin-Yang opposite paired organ.
- This leaves Xi-Cleft points which are assigned ☴ Xun, Wind, for their effect on acute disorders, with their complementary pairing being ☳ Zhen, Wood, the Jing-Well (Yin) and Shu-Stream point (Yang) which both deal with acute phases of disease.
- Back-Shu and Front-Mu points are assigned Qian and Kun respectively on the top due to their close association with the Du and Ren and their organ element is placed at the bottom, making them naturally pair with each other, as in Su Wen, ch. 47 that suggests treating them together.
- The gates of the Microcosmic Orbit on the Du and Ren follow the Waxing and Waning Hexagrams.
This enables them to be paired with points that share the same hexagram, their complementary opposite, or with its reverse which is the following or preceding hexagram in the King Wen sequence. Points can therefore be selected based on sharing a hexagram, their complementary opposite, or King Wen pairings in order to supplement or reduce a pathological state.
Reference Notes:
Basic information on location, needle depth, TCM actions, indications and combinations is taken from Deadman et al (2001): A Manual of Acupuncture with additional anatomical information researched by reference to Gray's Anatomy (38th Ed., 1995) unless otherwise referenced. Images were found on acupunctureschoolonline.com and can be traced back to Claudia Focks (2008) Atlas of Acupuncture originally. I cannot claim any credit or rights over them. Other sources should be quoted in the text.
For some of the more unusual terms I have created a glossary here