秉風 : Bingfeng : Grasping the Wind

Location Guides:

Classifications:

Binding point of the foot Taiyang Sinews

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

Meetings:

Meeting of Small Intestine with Large Intestine and San Jiao and Gall Bladder

Location:

In the centre of the suprascapular fossa, directly above Tianzhong S.I.-11, in a depression formed when the arm is raised.

Needling:

Oblique medial insertion towards the spine 0.5 - 1 cun

Warnings:

Deep perpendicular insertion, especially in this patients, carries a substantial risk of inducing a pneumothorax

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 hand Yin and Yang receive their Qi via nearby paths so their Qi arrive swiftly. The depth of piercing must not exceed 2 fen and must not remain inserted for longer than one exhalation" (Ling Shu 靈樞 ch. 12).
"Locate it with the" (patient’s) arm raised. It is needled to a depth of five fen, and is moxaed with five cones" (Huangfu Mi 皇甫謐, 3rd Century, Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing 針灸甲乙經).

TCM Actions:

Expels Wind and benefits the shoulder and scapula

TCM Indications:

• Pain of the shoulder and scapula with inability to raise the arm, stiff neck with inability to turn the head, pain and numbness of the upper arm, cough with stubborn phlegm.

Neuroanatomy:

Superficial Innervation: Suprascapular nerve from C5 - C6

Dermatome Segment: C4

Trigger Point Associations:

Muscle:
Supraspinatus

Pain Referral Pattern:
To lateral aspects of shoulder and elbow, with spillover across top of shoulder and all down lateral and radial aspects of the arm

Indications:
Pain of shoulder, especially on abduction of arm

Martial Applications & Effects of Injury:

If struck quite hard, this point will cause an energy rush to the head which can result in knock out. There will be a sickly feeling in the upper body for some time afterwards. The scapular can be knocked out of position with tendon damage as well (Montaigue, Dim Mak Locations, Taijiworld.com).

Major Combinations:

• Pain of the shoulder with inability to raise the arm:
    Bingfeng SI-12 with Yunmen Lu-2
    (Wang Zhizhong, 王執中, 1220: Zhen Jiu Zi Sheng Jing, 針灸資生經, Classic of Supporting Life with Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• Pain of the shoulder with inability to raise the arm:
    Bingfeng SI-12 with Tianrong SI-17
    (Haungfu Mi, 皇甫謐, 282: Zhen Jiu Jia Yi Jing, 針灸甲乙經, Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).

Notes:

One of the 18 tender spots used in the diagnosis of fibromyalgia (Wang, Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medical Approaches for Fibromyalgia, Acupuncture Today, vol.6 no.3, 2005).

This point is part of a group of seven on the Small Intestine channel which trace the Big Dipper constellation over the shoulder (Kim, 2020). This point would be equivalent to Megrez (天权 Tianquan, Celestial Authority).

Alternatively, since there is already a point named 天樞 Tianshu St-25 on the front of the body, which may represent a set of points correlating to the Big Dipper, this set of points on the back may correlate to the Little Dipper instead which was known in the Han dynasty as 勾陳七星 Gouchen Qixing, the seven stars of the god Gou Chen ("Old Hook"). This point would be ζ-Ursae Minoris (勾陳四 Gou Chen Si, "Old Hook Four").

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