沖門 : Chongmen : Rushing Gate

Location Guides:

Classifications:

Doorway to the Earth Point
Opening point of the Spleen Divergent channel (Cecil-Sterman, 2012, Advanced Acupuncture)
Binding point of the foot Taiyin Sinews

Meetings:

Meeting of Spleen with Liver, Yin Wei Mai, Stomach Divergent and Spleen Divergent

Location:

3.5 cun lateral to Qugu Ren-2, on the lateral side of the femoral artery.

Needling:

Perpendicular insertion 0.5 - 1 cun

Warnings:

Deep needling in a medial direction may puncture the femoral artery, and in a lateral direction, the fermoral nerve

Classical Needling:

"The Taiyin usually has much Qi and little Blood" (Su Wen 素問 ch. 24) implying this channel should normally be needled.
"The foot Taiyin is to be pierced 3 fen deep and remain inserted for four exhalations" (Ling Shu 靈樞 ch. 12).
"It is needled to a depth of sevenfen and moxaed with five cones" (Huangfu Mi 皇甫謐, 3rd Century, Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing 針灸甲乙經).

TCM Actions:

Invigorates Blood, regulates Qi and alleviates pain
Drains Damp, clears Heat and regulates urination

TCM Indications:

• Abdominal pain, cold in the abdomen with fullness, abdominal (Ji Ju) masses, Shan (疝) Disorder, pain of haemorrhoids, foetal qi rushes upward to the Heart leading to difficulty breathing, difficult lactation.
  
• Difficult urination, retention of urine, painful urinary dysfunction, leucorrhoea, Sudden Turmoil (霍亂, Huo Luan) Disorder, heat in the body, atrophy disorder and Painful Obstruction (痹, Bi) of the lower limb.

Neuroanatomy:

Superficial Innervation: Femoral branches of genitofemoral nerve from L1

Dermatome Segment: L1

Martial Applications & Effects of Injury:

A stab wound to this point will cause the femoral artery to bleed resulting in loss of consciousness and death within minutes (Coon, 2017).

Listed in the Wu Bei Zhi 武備志 (Treatise on Armament Technology) by Mao Yuanyi 茅元儀 (1621), Article 21: Delayed Death Touches with Twelve-Hour (Shichen 時辰) Diagrams. This point is associated with Shen 申 Monkey (3-5 pm) and if struck during this time is said to cause death within 2 weeks from trauma to the femoral artery and nerve. In Article 24: Bronze Man Statue, which divides the body into zones associated with the Twelve-Hour branches (Shichen 時辰) going from top downwards, the femoral triangle, including point, and the popliteal crease at Yinlingquan Sp-9 are the vital points of Shen 申 Monkey (3 - 5 pm) and considered most vulnerable to thrusting kicks during this time (McCarthy, 2016, Bubishi: The Classic Manual of Combat).

Striking this point can cause great internal damage to the femoral artery and nerve, causing the whole leg to be paralysed. A strong kick to this region can also knock the head of the femur and ball joint right out of its socket damaging the tendons and ligaments causing great pain and immobilisation. Long term effects may include weakness as the body is not be able to take as much Qi from food, air and water (Montaigue, Dim Mak Locations, Taijiworld.com).

Major Combinations:

• Abdominal fullness and abdominal masses
    (Ji Ju):
    Chongmen Sp-12 with Fushe Sp-13
    (Wang Zhizhong, 王執中, 1220: Zhen Jiu Zi Sheng Jing, 針灸資生經, Classic of Supporting Life with Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• The five types of painful urinary dysfunction with inability to urinate:
    Chongmen Sp-12 with Dadun Liv-1
    (Wang Zhizhong, 王執中, 1220: Zhen Jiu Zi Sheng Jing, 針灸資生經, Classic of Supporting Life with Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• Post-partum leucorrhoea and uterine bleeding:
    Chongmen Sp-12 with Qichong St-30
    (Gao Wu, 高武, 1529: Bai Zheng Fu, 百症賦, Ode of a Hundred Symptoms).

Notes:

Location of femoral pulse

Important point on the 胯 Kua (hip-groin functional musculoskeletal region) that facilitates the opening and closing of the hips.

This point would also be on the Chong mai where it travels along the pubic axis in Jeffrey Yuen's descriptions (Yuen, 2005, The Extraordinary Vessels).

Ling Shu Ch. 71, On Evil Visitors, says that when a depletion evil is in the Spleen it remains in the two thighs. Yuen's theory of the Divergent meridians suggests that they store pathogens at the major joints, depleting our resources while they do, which would suggest this is referring to the Spleen/Stomach Divergent. Jimen Sp-11 could also be a candidate as the text only specifies the thigh.

In early Chinese medicine, the pulse felt near this point, at the front and rear groove joints at the bottom of the belly, was taken as an indication of the health of the Spleen channel (Wang et al., 2012).

In Tibetan medicine:
Moxa point (AMNH, Tibetan Medical Paintings)

In Thai massage:
Point along the Itha (left) and Pingala (right) sen lines running from the navel Shenque Ren-8 to the outer knee Liangqiu St-34 (Salguero & Roylance, 2011, Encyclopedia of Thai Massage).

In the Unani Islamic medical practice of Hijama this point is known as Waraq.

"Abu dawood narrated that jabir razi allaho anh said that prophet Muhammad Sallallahoo Alaihi Wa Sallam used hijama (wet cupping) on his hip because of a debilitation he suffered from.

Prophet Muhammad Sallallahoo Alaihi Wa Sallam also took hijama on the hip & top of his foot, which explains that hijama at the painful area is also recommended by tibbenabavi."

Kahn, 2019, http://hijamacups.com/sunnah-points/. Accessed 12 May 2019.

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