When I was using regular needles, I used a lot of spreading needle technique in which a needle was tapped or scratched on the skin where had some kinds of reactions such as tightness, roughness, etc. 

For example, if there is tightness in the low back, there is usually tightness in the lower legs so the spreading needle is applied on the lower legs to loosen up the low back. In my impression, it sometimes had opposite effect, that means low back became tighter after spreading needle on the lower legs. I think it was because that technique was applied to an area instead of a point so unnecessary part was also dispersed by tapping, leading to the opposite effect.

Since I started using Teishin (round-tip needle) for all treatment, I didn't use the spreading needle technique. However, when I started using the technique recently, I realized that it seemed effective to loosen up the tightness which was difficult to release only with tonification.

In Spreading Needle technique with Teishin, thicker side of Teishin where I usually hold (handle of the needle) is used for tapping like pediatric acupuncture. Strong tapping which is used with a regular needle seems not necessary. Light tapping seems good enough. 

Last 2 times I talked about how to select a treatment point in the root treatment using 3 check points which were the pulse, abdomen and the muscle on the shoulder. Why is it necessary to check 3 points? Certainly it seems good enough to check 1 point because if the stimulation to the body is good effect, all parts of the body should manifest good reactions. But actually that is not true.

Previously I relied on the pulse so I was thinking that if the pulse got better, that leaded to a good way. Now in my treatment, I check the pulse, abdomen and the muscle on the shoulder, but it happens that the pulse and abdomen get better but the muscle on the shoulder doesn't get better by light strokes, or the pulse seems better but the abdomen and the shoulder muscle seems tighter on a certain point. 

For example, in the case that Sho (pattern) is Kidney Deficiency,  I confirm which can be a treatment point, KD3, KD7 or KD10. When I gives light strokes on KD3, all 3 check pints don't get better like the pulse becomes fast, the abdomen becomes tight and the muscle on the shoulder becomes tight. KD3 can't be used as a treatment point. When I give light strokes on KD7, the pulse seems better, the abdomen becomes softer and the muscle on the shoulder becomes a little bit tighter.  At this point, KD7 seems usable as a treatment point if I choose only the pulse as a check point, but when KD10 is checked with light strokes, all the 3 check points get much better, or the pulse seems better, the abdomen becomes softer and the muscle on the shoulder becomes much softer, KD10 is a better point to treat. Why does this phenomenon appear?

Even if I think that is better, that is not actually better. When KD7 is checked, the pulse seems better but Kidney position might be not deep enough, the abdomen seems softer but maybe not smooth enough, and the shoulder muscle should be softer. That meas, thinking these check points get better is possibly my misunderstanding. 

Therefore, checking on 3 points can avoid such misunderstanding and has more possibility to lead to a better treatment point than relying on 1 checking point. Of course, the master of Meridian Therapy would not need these processes.

MMA Vol. 5 Menopausal Syndrome (Part-II) What To Do is added to Home Therapy page in my website.

There are basically 2 types of Menopausal Syndrome which are Hypothyroid and Hyperthyroid type.
These conditions of the thyroid are related to the weakness of the Organs energy in Eastern medicine.
In this article, you can find out what to do for each type of menopausal syndrome.
Please visit the following URL.


http://www.weebly.com/uploads/2/9/0/8/29085181/mma_vol._5_menopausal_syndrome_(part-ii)_what_to_do.pdf

Last time I talked about the difficulty of the point selection in the Meridian Therapy I had practiced before because determination of Sho (Pattern) by the pulse diagnosis was very difficult and we couldn't know if the selected points would really work good way or not until the points were actually treated.

In the Meridian Therapy now I practice, I can check which meridian can be used before actual needling. After the pulse and abdominal diagnosis and checking the tightness of the shoulder muscle, a meridian considered as most appropriate to treat by the diagnosis is touched by light strokes. If the meridian is good to treat, the pulse, abdomen and shoulder muscle will become better condition like the pule becomes slower and softer, the abdomen becomes smoother and softer, and the shoulder muscle becomes softer. On the contrary, if the meridian is not good to treat, the pulse may become faster and tighter, the abdomen becomes tighter, and the shoulder muscle becomes tighter and sometimes painful to press.

Once an appropriate meridian is decided, the next process is the point selection within the meridian. For example, if the meridian is Lung, Lung 9, 8 and 5 will be touched by light strokes and the reaction of the pulse, the abdomen and the shoulder muscle will be checked. If the reaction of the pulse, abdomen and shoulder muscle at the time of Lung 8 is the best among the three points, Lung 8 will be chosen as the treatment point. Only after these processes, a real needle will be touched on the selected point.

It takes more time for the point selection, but this way is safer and more reliable because you can see the result of actual needling before you really needle.

In Meridian Therapy I had practiced before, the point selection was basically decided by Sho (Patern). For example, if Sho is Lung Deficiency (Weakness of Lung), Lung 9 and Spleen 3 are chosen as treatment points. If cough is a main symptom, Lung 8 and Spleen 5 are chosen within Lung Deficiency. But it was not sure whether the points would work well or not until the points were actually treated with needles. 

Furthermore, it was not sure whether the selected points were correct or not even after the points were used because sometime the points were correct but the technique was not good, leading to a bad result. 

Also Sho is decided by mostly pulse diagnosis, but the pulse diagnosis is very difficult so it could happen that Sho of the same patient determined by the pulse diagnosis was different between acupuncturists such as one acupuncturist says Spleen Deficiency, another says Lung Deficiency, resulting in totally different point selections.

So what is the best solution to determine the most appropriate Sho and points to treat?

MMA Vol. 4 Menopausal Syndrome (Part-I) is added to Home Therapy page.
How does the thyroid relate to menopausal syndrome?
How does menopausal syndrome relate to Eastern medical categorization?
Please find out the detail, visiting the following URL.


http://www.cozyacu.com/uploads/2/9/0/8/29085181/mma_vol._4_menopausal_syndrome_part-i.pdf

Last time I talked about Micro Cosmic Orbit. Micro Cosmic Orbit is used as a part of Q-Gong training. When we think about the front side of our body, male's Micro Cosmic Orbit flows down and female's one flows up, though there is an exception. 

Connecting this idea to general method to decide the treatment side in which we treat right side if the patient is a female and treat left side if the patient is a male, if Micro Cosmic Orbit flows down in front of the body, one of Yin Meridians on left side of the body should be chosen, and if Micro Cosmic Orbit flows up in front of the body, one of Yin Meridian on right side of the body should be chosen. 

I think this method that uses Micro Cosmic Orbit is more accurate, compared to other methods such as gender, healthy side of the body, harder side of the navel, that means, this method gives me more chance to find the best point to tonify Yin faster. However, I have to say that this idea is just my hypothesis and in the case that Yin meridian is not used, this method is not applicable.

This is continuation of last time. I talked that sometimes I couldn't decide whether I should choose right or left as treatment side. For example, I can't decide when gender shows right and harder side of the navel shows left, or both gender and harder side of the navel show right but I can't find a good meridian to tonify.

By the way, do you know Micro Cosmic Orbit in our body? The mid-line in our body that Governing Vessel is connected to Conception Vessel is called Micro Cosmic Orbit. Generally male's Micro Cosmic Orbit circulates down along Conception Vessel and up along Governing Vessel, and female's Micro Cosmic Orbit circulates opposite way, that is, down along Governing Vessel and up along Conception Vessel. This way of thinking is different from Chinese medicine's. 

In Chinese medicine, Conception Vessel flows from the genital area to the mouth, and Governing Vessel flows from the coccyx to the mouth. There is a connection but the flow is opposite so there is no continuous circulation. 

The concept of Micro Cosmic Orbit doesn't fit Chinese medicine, but I use the concept to decide treatment side. I will talk about how it works next time.

In Meridian Therapy branched out from Toyo Hari, one side of the body is often used as the treatment side when tonifying Yin meridian in the root treatment. The first tonification is the most important part of the root treatment (because sometime only one point is tofinied in the root treatment.) so the selection of the side should be very sensitive. 

Most popular way to decide the treatment side is that if the patient is a female, the treatment side is right side of the body, and if the patient is a male, the treatment side is left side of the body. At the same time, as confirmation, checking both sides of the navel (KD15 area), harder side is chosen as the treatment side. However, even if the gender and side of the navel show right side of the body, sometimes I can't find a good meridian and a point to tonify Yin on the right side of the body. When gender and the harder side of the navel conflict, if I choose the harder side of the navel, it doesn't go well sometimes. So how can I find proper treatment side? I will talk about my idea next time.