白環俞 : Baihuanshu : White Ring Shu

Location Guides:

Classifications:

Trigger point (Travell & Simons, 1998, Trigger Point Manual)

Location:

1.5 cun lateral to the midline, at the level of the fourth posterior sacral foramen.

Needling:

Perpendicular insertion 0.5 - 1 cun

Warnings:

Some classical sources forbid moxibustion at this point.

Classical Needling:

"The Taiyang usually has much Blood and little Qi" (Su Wen 素問 ch. 24) implying this channel should normally be bled.
"The foot Taiyang is to be pierced 5 fen deep and remain inserted for seven exhalations" (Ling Shu 靈樞 ch. 12).
"Locate it with the" (patient’s) body prostrate. It is needled to a depth of eight fen, and moxibustion is prohibited" (Huangfu Mi 皇甫謐, 3rd Century, Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing 針灸甲乙經).

TCM Actions:

Benefits the lumbar region and legs
Regulates menstruation
Stops leucorrhoea and seminal emission

TCM Indications:

• Pain of the lumbar spine and sacrum, lumbar pain due to cold, pain of the lumbar region and up, pain of the coccyx, difficulty in sitting and standing, debility of the leg and knee, contracted sinews associated with Painful Obstruction (痹, Bi).
  
• Irregular menstruation, dysmenorrhoea, uterine bleeding, infertility.
  
• Seminal emission, seminal emission with dreams, ref and white leucorrhoea, difficult defecation and urination, prolapse of the rectum, dark urine, white turbidity, Shan (疝) Disorder, white Malarial (瘧, Nue) Disorders.

Neuroanatomy:

Superficial Innervation: Dorsal rami of S1 - S3

Dermatome Segment: S3

Deeper Structures: Dorsal rami of S3

Trigger Point Associations:

Muscle:
Multifidus

Pain Referral Pattern:
Local to point and to midline

Indications:
Low back pain

Martial Applications & Effects of Injury:

See Montaigue, Dim Mak Locations, Taijiworld.com for explanation of effects.

Major Combinations:

• Back pain extending to the lumbar region:
    Baihuanshu Bl-30 with Weizhong Bl-40
    (Gao Wu, 高武, 1529: Bai Zheng Fu, 百症賦, Ode of a Hundred Symptoms).
  
  
• Lumbar pain due to Kidney deficiency:
    Baihuanshu Bl-30 with Shenshu Bl-23, Weizhong Bl-40 and Taixi Kid-3
    (Yang Jizhou, 杨继洲, 1601: Zhen Jiu Da Cheng, 針灸大成, Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• Red and white leucorrhoea:
    Baihuanshu Bl-30 with Daimai GB-26, Guanyuan Ren-4, Qihai Ren-6, Sanyinjiao Sp-6 and Jianshi Pc-5
    (Yang Jizhou, 杨继洲, 1601: Zhen Jiu Da Cheng, 針灸大成, Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).

Notes:

In Tibetan medicine:
Moxa point (AMNH, Tibetan Medical Paintings)

Reference Notes:

Basic information on location, needle depth, TCM actions, indications and combinations is taken from Deadman et al (2001): A Manual of Acupuncture with additional anatomical information researched by reference to Gray's Anatomy (38th Ed., 1995) unless otherwise referenced. Images were found on acupunctureschoolonline.com and can be traced back to Claudia Focks (2008) Atlas of Acupuncture originally. I cannot claim any credit or rights over them. Other sources should be quoted in the text.

For some of the more unusual terms I have created a glossary here