China zhenjiuology-Intermediate

Explore the structure and examination of filiform needles in acupuncture, covering tip, body, root, handle, tail; materials, sizes, and inspection practices to ensure sterility and safe use.

Master finger strength and precise manipulation of filiform needles through hands-on practice with pads, learn insertion techniques, angles and depths, plus patient postures and sterilization for safe acupuncture.

Master post-insertion needle manipulation in acupuncture, including lifting and thrusting and twirling with controlled amplitude. Learn subsidiary methods like scraping, shaking, and withdrawal to optimize qi and safety.

Explore acupuncture reinforcement and reduction techniques, including lifting and thrusting, slow and rapid insertion, and clockwise versus counter-clockwise rotation along the needle path and respiration-based timing.

Learn how to prevent and manage acupuncture complications, including fainting, stuck or bent needles, and hematoma, through safe techniques, posture, relaxation, and needle quality checks.

Delay acupuncture when the patient is famished, fatigued, or nervous. Avoid abdomen and lumbar points in pregnancy, and prevent excessive manipulation or deep needling near the eyes, heart, or lungs.

Explore the three edged needle therapy, a collaterals puncture that pricks points to release a small amount of blood, clearing heat, relieving pain and swelling, and regulating blood.

Explore cutaneous needle therapy with diverse needle types and tapping methods, emphasizing sterilization, right-angle insertion, and meridian and local-area stimulation for conditions like headache, hypertension, and insomnia.

Explore subcutaneous needle therapy with green-like and thumbtack needles implanted for meridian and organ regulation, with sterilization, fixation, and season-based duration.

Electro acupuncture delivers a current through needles to meridian points to relieve pain and improve circulation, using sparse and dense waveforms at 2–5 Hz and 50–100 Hz for 5–20 minutes.

Explore hydro acupuncture, selecting ear and meridian points by syndrome differentiation and tender spots, then inject medications aseptically with area-based dosages and allergy testing.

Learn scalp acupuncture, puncturing defined scalp zones to treat epilepsy, heart and gastric disorders, uterine bleeding, and paralysis, while mastering needle technique, stimulation, and safety protocols.

Master ear acupuncture by stimulating ear points to treat diseases, map organ correlations on the ear, learn four selection principles, examination methods, and broad clinical applications.

Explore acupuncture anesthesia, a preoperative technique integrating traditional Chinese medicine with Western medicine to relieve pain, regulate physiology, and enable conscious, safe, rapid surgeries.

Explore diverse moxibustion methods, including direct and indirect techniques, cones, sticks, and Artemesia-based preparations, for warming and tonifying in deficiency and cold conditions.

Apply moxibustion with a head and body first, then the four extremities, using reinforcing or reducing cones to heat and open points while avoiding face, large vessels, and pregnancy abdomen.

Learn how moxibustion warms channels, expels cold, and improves blood circulation and vitality, plus various cupping methods such as fire, water, and air pumping cupping and their clinical use.

Explore the anatomy of acupuncture points, including forbidden points, and learn safe needle manipulation and depth strategies to protect head, eyes, and brain.

Use Chengqi acupuncture to relieve cramping in the orbicularis oculi with periorbital needling, keeping the needle near the infraorbital ridge and mindful of the ophthalmic arteries to avoid eye injury.

Explore the sibai st2 acupuncture point near the eye, targeting the lower orbicularis oculi and adjacent facial muscles to supplement facial paralysis treatment, with safe perpendicular insertion and moxa cautions.

Identify renying (st9) at the Adam's apple level near the carotid artery; indications include goitre, sore throat, dizziness, and avoid deep, lateral insertion to prevent vascular or vagus nerve injury.

Identify fengfu du16 by locating the occipital region and hairline; assess skin, tissue, and ligament depth to ensure safe needling and prevent medulla oblongata injury.

Fengchi GB20 lies at the neck near the sternocleidomastoid and trapezius, treating headache, vertigo, neck stiffness, and blurred vision, with depth control to avoid medulla oblongata and vertebral vessel injury.

Learn to identify safe needling depth and direction for head, neck, and chest regions, to prevent spinal cord injury and pneumothorax, and recognize related symptoms.

Demonstrates anterior neck needling near the trachea, detailing shallow and deep insertion through neck layers and the front crevice, with safety checks to avoid lung and artery injury.

Students learn ST18 chest needle insertion, detailing chest wall anatomy, the fifth intercostal space, and pleural risks, using a horizontal approach at 25 degrees and shallow depth.

Explain xinshu bl15, located 1.5 cun lateral to t5 spinous process in prone position, with indications anemia and palpitations; emphasize perpendicular, within one cun depth, to avoid lung injury.

Adopt the 12:55 lateral-to-vertebral method for locating Jaji points (34 on both sides from T1 to L5) to improve safety and efficacy, using plum blossom needle techniques.

Explore the nine needling methods and twelve kneeling techniques described in the inner canon and canon of perplexities, detailing point location, depth, and treatment across the five Tsong organs.

Explore the classic 14 needle manipulation techniques from the Ode of the Golden Needles, including nail, twist, press, lift, stroke, and the dragon, tiger, tortoise, and phoenix meridian methods.

Learn historical needling techniques, including two-way penetration with one needle, transverse and perpendicular penetrations, and threading movements, used to treat facial paralysis, finger contractures, and shoulder joint pain.

Compare classical and modern acupuncture methods, using slow and rapid insertion and withdrawal to reinforce deficiency or reduce excess, with gentle versus heavy needling to excite or inhibit tissue.

Apply controlled needle rotation in acupuncture by twisting the handle with the thumb and index finger, modulating stimulation through amplitude and frequency, including mild versus strong stimulation guidelines.

Master the lifting and thrusting needle technique with the thumb, index, and middle fingers, delivering controlled depth and frequency for gentle to strong stimulation.

Apply retention techniques embedding needles for minutes to days to reinforce or reduce effects, with manipulation lifting or thrusting five to ten minutes, or without manipulation with mild stimulation.

Coordinate breathing with needle manipulation to ease pain, using reinforcing (exhale on insertion, inhale on withdrawal) or reducing (inhale on insertion, exhale on withdrawal) methods and varying frequency.

Learn how to handle the needle hole after withdrawal: press lightly to reinforce and prevent leakage, or leave it open without pressure to avoid prolonging the local reaction.

Execute the nine and six manipulations by rotating, lifting, and thrusting the needle; reinforce with nine times and reduce with four or six times, reflecting young and yin aspects.

Shake the needle side to side without rotation, with small amplitude and slow frequency for mild stimulation to reinforce; large amplitude and fast frequency yield strong stimulation to reduce.

Circling method guides the needle tail obliquely for 360 degrees without lifting, strengthening stimulation; small amplitude with slow frequency yields mild effects, large amplitude with rapid frequency yields strong effects.

Direct the needle tip along the meridian to promote circulation; directing against the meridian weakens the flow.

Present a reinforcing and reducing method that combines slow and rapid insertion and withdrawal, six manipulations, and exhale-based depth control from shallow to deep, followed by withdrawal and closure.

Explore a traditional zhenjiu technique that links reinforcement and reduction with synchronized breathing, inserting the needle at shallow, middle, and deep levels. Indications include phlegm syndrome, epilepsy, and mental disorders.

Learn yin hidden within yang by combining reinforcing and reducing methods with slow and rapid insertion, using shallow and deep needling and rotation per nine and six indications.

Explore the reinforcing and reducing method in acupuncture, using slow and rapid insertion and withdrawal, nine and six manipulation, heat followed by cold, and depth divisions for muscle-rich points.

Apply the green dragon swings tail technique to unblock meridians with a subcutaneous insertion, guiding the needle to diseased area and shaking left and right for nine or 27 repetitions.

Learn the white tiger shaking head technique, combining lifting, rotating, and shaking of the needle in rhythm with breathing, using small amplitude for reinforcement and large amplitude for reduction.

Learn to use a Green Tortoise probe to locate pain and numbness, insert the needle perpendicularly into the diseased area, then withdraw and repeat downward and upward probes.

Learn a red phoenix flying technique in zhenjiuology, treating muscular atrophy and paralysis by three needle depths—deep, middle, and shallow—then circularly move and vibrate the needle to reinforce sensation.

Apply the dragon-tiger fighting technique derived from nine and six manipulations to delicate acupuncture points, insert the needle to the required depth, rotate nine times counter-clockwise, then six times clockwise.

Explore dragon-tiger ascending and descending indications for obstructions and blood manipulation, and practice a three-level needle depth with prescribed counterclockwise and clockwise rotations and thrusts.

Master the vigorous lifting and thrusting acupuncture technique, inserting the needle, lifting gently, rotating counter-clockwise nine times, then lifting with thrusting and six clockwise rotations, repeated.

Use the hungry horse shaking bell technique, a gentle lifting and thrusting needling method to reinforce with light needling and reduce with heavy needling, selecting points for prognosis.

Explore the three needles punctured into temporal area method for stroke sequelae, detailing the points in the temple area, needle angle and depth, and reinforcing and reducing manipulations.

Explore around diseased area puncture, using multiple needles around a diseased region. Learn two types: size-based circumferential needling and center-based adjacent punctures, with optional supplementary points for limited lesions.

This lecture explores warming needle acupuncture, comparing needle size, material, and temperature effects, and explains how season and patient condition influence the differential use of needles.

Learn warming needle techniques in intermediate China zhenjiuology, including perpendicular insertion and three-centimeter depth with stainless steel needles, plus infection prevention and syndrome differentiation for facial paralysis and knee pain.

Apply medicinal cake moxibustion to stimulate blood circulation, dispel water, and relieve swelling, with prepared cakes at about 45°C for multi-site treatments including stomachache, diarrhea, and cervical spondylosis.