Healing Instruments

Needling

• 8 extraordinary vessel treatment guidelines: Massage then needle the opening point unilaterally, few needles with vibrating technique; close with the contralateral paired point; then add other points. (Shea)
• Deep–superficial–deep needling to induce latency: For a genetic condition like cystic fibrosis, use the divergents with deep-superficial-deep needling to maintain latency; to alter the gene go to the eight extras. (Yuen) → Epigenetic Issues
• Direction of needling confluent points: To release, needle confluent points from below upward; to push into latency, from above downward; latency deepens the pulse, releasing perks up the superficial pulse. (Yuen) → UB-1 Jingming, GB-22 Yuanye
• Divergent technique: Needle the four confluent points first (SDS to release, DSD to promote latency), then trajectory points, adding a jing-well to release via the sinew channel. (Pannell)
• Lifting & thrusting for phlegm: Focus on lifting to expel phlegm, on thrusting to generate warmth that transforms it; needling technique is central in the classics for phlegm. (Yuen)
• Lock and key method: Needle points along the whole channel including ashi points for strong patients (wiry strong pulse); deficient patients get local + distal only. (Alexander)
• Needle shock: Watch for nervousness/nausea; remove needles, do vigorous tui na on tendons, lay down with feet elevated; even robust-looking people may be depleted after disasters. (Resnick)
• Needles as divining rods: Acupuncture needles depicted as rods restoring balance between water and fire — making the needle sacred, rooted in shen. (Lewis)
• Needling sides by brain level: Lower brain: needle bilaterally; midbrain: one side, with distal points on the opposite side; upper brain: bilaterally to reintegrate. (Gioioso)
• Needling technique for eight extras & divergents — vibrating: For eight extras and divergents use a vibrating needle technique that ripples through the whole body; some use a 'yao' shaking technique like wagging a tail. (Yuen)
• Rotation & needle removal: Clockwise to tonify, counterclockwise to pull out; for tonification cover the hole quickly after withdrawal, for sedation leave it open and withdraw slowly. (Hiltbrand)
• Seasonal needle depth & five-element levels: Needle more superficially in summer/fall, deeper in winter; depth modulated by five-element levels. (Hiltbrand)
• Six qi in needling: Heat is always vital energy, cold never; Jueyin as activator to promote action and movement; Shaoyin and Shaoyang to give vital heat and life force. Freehand needling. (Hiltbrand)
• Three-time needling (san ci) — Su Wen ch.63: One insertion moved superficial-deep-superficial: superficial for external factors, moderate for internal, deep (Yuan qi) to access the constitution via source, back-shu or luo points. (Yuen)

Gua Sha

• SI-9 / SI-10 / SI-12 area gua sha: Gua sha the shoulder (large intestine, some stomach and small intestine areas) to release the pure yang of the stomach. (Yuen) → SI-9 Jianzhen, SI-10 Naoshu, SI-12 Bingfeng
• Whiplash gua sha: Strong gua sha along the trapezius to the occiput (sometimes SCM) opens collaterals blocked by qi/blood stasis after whiplash, even old injuries. (Resnick) → Acute Trauma, Traumatic injury, Neck Pain, Stiffness and Tension

Cupping

• Cupping, gua sha & dry needling as sinew adjuncts: Cupping for deep cold-damp aching; gua sha scrapes out 'sha' sediment; dry needling for chronic/neurological (wind) conditions. (Yuen)

Pulse

• Communication pulses vs static pulses: A weak lung pulse may be due to the spleen not ascending (tight, wiry or slippery spleen) — look at how pulses communicate to find the root. (Peck)
• Intermittent pulse and sublingual veins: Intermittent pulse links to heart disease: check sublingual veins for blood stasis (dark) and phlegm (white at root). (Peck) → Cardiac Arrhythmia, Irregular Heartbeat, Heart Murmur
• LU-9 Taiyuan (pulse mapping): Cun is at LU-9; per Jeffrey Yuen, locate guan from the ulnar styloid, then space chi the same distance, measured to the patient's body. (Peck) → LU-9 Taiyuan
• Lung pulse descending check: Check lung qi diffusing and descending: press at the cun while fingers rest at the chi. (Lewis)
• Pulse at approaching death: Near death the pulse is thin like a breaking thread; tension in a position shows unresolved emotion (left guan anger, right cun grief), guiding treatment. (Lewis) → Death and Dying
• Pulse evaluation for divergent treatment: Check for hidden pulses; the deep level assesses Jing (chi) and blood (guan), the moderate level Lung qi; if Lung qi is weak eliminate via urination rather than sweating. (Yuen)
• Pulse qualities: Big = yin holding yang; slippery = damp/phlegm responding to heat; tight from cold, pain or food stagnation; hollow = acute blood/fluid loss; moving = side-to-side vibration. (Peck)
• Reading eight-extra activity in the pulse: Chong, Dai and Yin Wei involvement can be sensed as a vibration in the pulse — something coming into circulation asking for recognition and resolution. (Lewis)
• Short pulse: A position with no pulse while the other two are present = short pulse. (Peck)
• Three pulse levels: Superficial = wei qi, moderate = ying qi, deep = yuan qi; take the pulse palm up, right hand first (qi pulses), then left. (Peck)
• Tight pulse by level: Wei level: qi stagnation; ying: blood stagnation; deep: essence stagnation — tight deep kidney may indicate prostate issues. Shouldn't see tightness at guan. (Peck)