Latest issue no. 98 - February 2012

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The Heavenly Star Points of Ma Danyang

Author: Andrew Nugent-Head

According to the Heavenly Star Poem (first recorded in Wang Guorui's Yuan Dynasty Jade Dragon Classic's Echo of Bian Que Deity's Acupuncture), 'None of the functions of the 360 points are beyond the 11 [Heavenly Star] points'. The same poem states that the clinical effects of using these points can be 'like hot water poured upon snow'. This article explains the history and textual transmission of the Heavenly Star Points of Ma Danyang, and includes comprehensive descriptions of the application of the points and the needling techniques necessary to produce the desired clinical effects.

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The Acupuncture Treatment of Female Infertility - with Particular Reference to Egg Quality and Endometrial Receptiveness

Authors: Toni A. Maughan and Xiao-Ping Zhai

Patients undergoing fertility treatment often believe that all that matters when trying to conceive is the number of eggs they have. However, it is actually the quality of these eggs that determines whether an embryo is able to reach the blastocyst stage, implant and continue to develop into a healthy baby. Egg quality is affected by ovarian function and the state of the reproductive environment - for instance the harmonious functioning of the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian axis - as well as lifestyle factors and the age of the patient. Tubal or immune factors may further impair a women's chance to conceive. From the Chinese medical perspective the primary gynaecological functions are governed by the Kidney jing, Liver and Spleen. This paper describes the underlying mechanisms of female fertility from a Western as well as a Chinese medicine perspective, and gives acupuncture treatment protocols that can be modified to the patient's individual Chinese medicine diagnosis, to enhance thereproductive environment and create optimal conditions for fertilisation, maternal endometrial receptivity and a subsequent healthy pregnancy.

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Community Acupuncture: Making Buckets from Ming Vases

Author: Lisa Rohleder

Community acupuncture – as practised by self-styled 'acupunks' – is a radically different vision and philosophy for the practice of acupuncture in the West. Patients are seen in a group setting, which allows for treatment to be conducted via a high-volume, low-cost sustainable business model. Spa settings and excessive Chinese medicine theory are unnecessary with such a model of treatment, as the needles do all the necessary work. This article describes the vision, aims and underlying philosophy of the community acupuncture movement.

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An Everyday Warm Disease Formula: Ascending and Descending Powder (Sheng Jiang San)

Author: Jason Blalack

This article presents an exploration of Yang Lishan's warm disease formula, Ascending and Descending Powder (sheng jiang san), including its historical background and examples of how physicians can use the formula clinically for a wide variety of conditions.

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An Interview with Dan Bensky

Author: Daniel Maxwell

This interview with Dan Bensky took place in London (UK) in October 2011 and discusses the study and practice of tradition East Asian medicine.

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Should Acupuncture And Moxibustion Be Routinely Recommended For The Treatment Of Breech Presentation?

Author: Andrea Aiello Steinlechner

Breech presentation puts both mother and baby at a higher risk of morbidity and mortality. In Western countries, a large proportion of breech babies are delivered by elective caesarean section, which itself presents significant dangers. It is therefore preferable to turn the baby to a cephalic position prior to delivery. Chinese Medicine traditionally treats breech presentation by stimulating acupoint Zhiyin BL-67. This paper reviews the literature on the treatment of breech presentation with acupuncture and moxibustion at Zhiyin BL-67, focusing on the efficacy of these treatments and the viability of offering them in the private and public health sectors. It concludes that there is evidence to support treatment of breech presentation by stimulating Zhiyin BL-67 with both needling and moxibustion, and that moxibustion in particular is a safe and cost-effective method of treating breech presentation. However, more robust research using greater sample sizes is still needed in this area.

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The Yin and Yang of Climate Change: Chinese Medicine and Cultural Transformation

Author: Brendan Kelly

A fundamental tenet of Chinese medicine is that as humans we are connected to the world around us, and that the microcosm and the macrocosm - the little picture and the big picture - offer similar views, with the difference being merely a matter of scale. In light of over two decades of voluminous Western research indicating that the stability of the climate has been seriously compromised, how can Chinese medicine contribute to the ongoing discussion about climate change? Even a basic discussion of yinyang theory can provide significant insights into what climatologists describe is happening globally. This article examines prevalent assumptions about climate change held in the industrialised West through the lens of Chinese medicine, and explores deep-reaching philosophical understandings from classic Chinese medical texts that have much to offer in discussions about - and action towards - climate stabilisation.

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The Clinical Utility of the Concept of Jing in Chinese Reproductive Medicine

Author: Daniel Maxwell

The concept of jing is fundamental in Chinese medicine (CM), yet English-language discourse using the concept reveals a variety of meanings that result in much potential confusion. In the currently-flourishing field of Chinese reproductive medicine in the West clinicians frequently diverge significantly from their biomedical peers, for example in claiming to be able to provide treatment for age-related pathologies of the human gametes - ascribed by modern CM to be manifestations of jing - that seem dubious from the perspective of modern biomedicine. In the context of the unclear ways in which the concept of jing is used, and the emotive sphere of reproductive medicine in which it operates, this paper presents an analysis of the English-language discourse relating to jing. It finds that the term tends to be used differently by various clinicians and scholars of CM, and that such uses depend on the specific requirements and agendas of the author in question.

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