When it comes to stiff neck, everyone is familiar with it. Most people have experienced stiff neck. In fact, "stiff neck" is a popular name. In books or articles, this disease is called "cervical spondylosis". It is very common in clinical practice and is the earliest cervical spondylosis. There are many ways to treat cervical spondylosis, including acupuncture, massage, and scraping. Today we will introduce moxibustion to you.
First of all, we need to know the causes and manifestations of cervical spondylosis before we can treat it accordingly. Cervical spondylosis is based on acute and chronic injuries of cervical muscles, ligaments, and joint capsules, degeneration of intervertebral discs, vertebral instability, and dislocation of small joints. Stretching or hyperflexion, caused by stretching or compression of certain muscles, ligaments, and nerves in the neck, usually occurs at night and when getting up in the morning, and has a tendency of natural remission and recurrence. Showing a younger trend.
The clinical manifestations of stiff neck are stiffness and pain in the neck. There may be pain and stiffness in the entire shoulder, inability to nod, raise and turn the head, a torticollis posture, and the trunk rotates at the same time when turning the head, and dizziness symptoms may also occur. In the acute stage, the cervical spine is absolutely limited in motion, with tenderness in the cervical paraspinal muscles, trapezius, and sternocleidomastoid muscles, and tenderness in the supraspinatus and infraspinatus muscles. There is a history of repeated stiff neck.
So, stiff neck, which acupoints should we moxibustion?
Ashi point
It refers to the tender point (sensitive point) on the part of the pain or related to the pain as acupoints. In the part of the neck pain, the most obvious tenderness is selected as the Ashi point, which means "taking pain as the acupoint".
Yanglingquan
On the outside of the calf, in the depression anteriorly and inferiorly to the head of the fibula. Yanglingquan is a commonly used acupoint for tendon injury diseases. In addition, it has a good effect on gallbladder disease, and has the effect of reducing inflammation and promoting gallbladder.
channel hole
In the depression between the radial styloid process and the radial artery, 1 cun above the transverse crease of the wrist. It has the functions of clearing the lung and regulating qi, dispelling the wind and relieving the exterior surface. It is used to treat fever and chills, cough and asthma, chest tightness and chest pain, swelling and pain in the throat and wrist pain caused by lung heat. Meridian canal is also a special point for treating stiff neck.
*Acupuncture point pictures come from "Illustrated Huangdi Neijing" produced by Zitu Books
How to operate:
Moxibustion at the Ashi point: the patient sits prone. Instruct the patient to move the neck slowly in order to accurately find the Ashi point (pain point) on the neck, light the moxa stick, and use gentle moxibustion to follow the meridian from bottom to top and apply the operation on each Ashi point in order to feel the warmth from the point As long as there is no burning pain, each point should be used for 5 minutes.
Moxibustion in Yanglingquan: Ask the patient to sit or lie on his back. First guess the tenderness points near the Yanglingquan on both sides, and then moxibustion the pain points for 15 minutes. At the same time, the patient was asked to move the neck slowly.
Moxibustion meridian: the patient takes a seat, and the patient with unilateral stiff neck puts the affected hand on the treatment bed, and the patient with bilateral stiff neck puts both hands on the treatment bed. Moxa sticks moxibustion meridians for 15 minutes.
Once a day.
The meridian canal is the acupoint of the Taiyin meridian of the hand, which can dispel wind and cold, clear the meridian and activate the collaterals. The Taiyin meridian of the hand and the Yangming meridian are on the outside and inside. The neck and shoulders are where the Yangming meridian passes.
Yanglingquan is the tendon meeting point of the eight meeting points, and it is the key point for treating muscle diseases all over the body. "Acupuncture and Moxibustion Integration" says: "The tendon meeting Yanglingquan tendon disease cures this."
The Ashi point is where the qi and blood stagnate in the meridians. Moxibustion along the meridians will make the blood flow smoothly, and the meridians will naturally flow smoothly. If the meridians are unobstructed, the neck pain will also improve.
Long-term moxibustion at these acupoints can prevent the formation of habitual stiff neck and cervical spondylosis.
In addition to moxibustion, you can also use scraping to complement moxibustion. I’ll share it with you below:
The rectangular scraping board is made of buffalo horn. The medium is scraping oil. The meridian is scraped through the Governor Meridian Fengfu-Shenzhu, the Gallbladder Meridian Fengchi-Jianjing, and the Bladder Meridian Tianzhu-Geshu. When operating, first apply a little scraping oil on the scraping area, then use the scraping board to form a 45-degree angle with the skin, with the neck from top to bottom, and the shoulders from the inside to the outside, with even force. The scraping force should be tolerated by the patient. Apply it lightly first and then apply it slowly, until purple-red or purple-black sha spots appear on the skin. Focus on scraping the sore areas and Tianzhu, Tianzong, Fengchi, Dazhui, Jianjing, Jianzhongshu, Jianwaishu, Jianliao, Quchi, etc. After scraping, ask the patient to drink a cup of hot water to promote the elimination of toxins.
Moxibustion method: Place lighted moxa on the moxibustion box, and perform moxibustion treatment on the Jianjing, Jianzhongshu, Jianwaishu, Jianliao and other acupoints on the neck and shoulders, subject to the patient's comfort.
Gua Sha is performed once every 3 days, and moxibustion is performed once a day; if the two need to be performed on the same day, scraping is performed first, followed by moxibustion. 15 days is a course of treatment.
Scraping can improve the body fluid circulation in the neck and shoulders, dilate the peripheral blood vessels of the affected area, make the skin red, increase the temperature, enhance metabolism and nutrition, and facilitate the absorption of inflammatory edema or hematoma. At the same time, under the physical stimulation of scraping, the excitability of nerve endings is reduced, the signal transmission to the center is reduced, and the response of local tissues to pain is gradually weakened. Moxa moxa has a pure yang nature and can dredge the twelve meridians. It has the effects of warming the meridians and dispersing cold, dispelling wind and dampness, unblocking collaterals and relieving pain. Utilizing the mild heat of moxibustion and the medicinal properties of mugwort leaves, the moxibustion sensation can reach the disease directly through the conduction of meridians and collaterals, dissipate blood stasis and dissipate stagnation, warm meridians and collaterals, and eliminate wind-cold and damp pathogens, thus achieving therapeutic effect.
*Selected from "Fujian Traditional Chinese Medicine" December 2009, Lin Qiufang.
*"Fujian Traditional Chinese Medicine" was founded in 1956 and is sponsored by the Fujian Traditional Chinese Medicine Association and Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. This journal adheres to the characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine, focuses on clinical practice, and has rich and practical content. It is deeply loved by readers and authors and enjoys a high reputation at home and abroad. It is a place for readers and authors to obtain academic information and conduct academic exchanges.
