Ankylosing spondylitis

Comment by Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.

For the moxa in a limited clinical setting you should feel free to give it to people in the stick/cigar format for home use. We do that quite often for those that need it.

Our general protocol for ankylosing spondylitis is as follows:

• Huatou at T1, T2, T3 (immune/autoimmune - bone marrow, thymus gland and lung/lymph systems respectively)
• Huatuo at T7 (spleen/blood and circulation into the lower parts of the trunk and body)</li>
• Huatuo at L1, L2, L3 (adrenal, kidney and prostate/ovary respectively)</li>
  <li>Huatuo at C1 *
• GV 20 - motor cortex

So for us a general treatment would involve first some massage in the sky window area SI 16, etc., followed by needling the points above alone with a selection of constitutional based TCM points. Then deeper tuina on the neck and all of those huatuo points.

Comment by Archived User

Dear Maxblau

(should we call it spondylosis?)

It is a cold condition all right! I have been talking about it for nearly an year now: Traditional Chinese Vertical Meridians carry mostly yang energy and cannot solve the problems related to cold conditions!

The BIJI Meridians (a new relationship of shu points) can help such cold conditions much better! I wonder how come no one noticed these relationships in China for thousands of years! (and if some of them noticed they probabily could not share!)

In case of bamboo spine (execess cold condition) not only sedation of cold in spine but also traction is called for!

Bone being yin of yang and Kid/UB being responsible for bones the 1st point suggested is rent CV3, next proceed in following order:

rent K5, remove the needle in say30 seconds and reinsert to sedate K5 (cold), sedate LU7 (dry) and tone HT5 (heat) and P6 (hot) points of BIJI PC Horizontal meridian last point sedate UB64 (cold of CV: control point).

Application of needles should be horizontal to traditional Chinese Meridians because the above points make a horizontal meridian sedation of points on legs can be achieved by applying needles away from hand similarly points of hand can be sedated by applying needles away from legs; tonification of points of hands can be achieved by applying needles towards leg and that (tonification) of points of legs can be achieved by applying needles towards hand. (I should love to share the practical technique and the theory behind it but for distance!)

In your case it is expected to give around 25 to 30% relief in 3 sittings.

during 4th sitting you may like to add Kid and Spleen Biji Spiral meridians: tone Liv2 sedate LU5 + tone LU10 sedate PC3 and finish with sedatation of SP9 a/o HT3 (control)

moxa at PC8, SI4, TW4 and SI6 will help no doubt !

regards