沖陽 : Chongyang : Rushing Yang

Classifications:

Yuan-Source point
Exit point to Yinbai Sp-1
Binding point of the foot Yangming Sinews
Shokanten Nine continents Pulse for Lower Jiao, Shaoyin and Spleen

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

Location:

On the dorsum of the foot, in the depression formed by the junction of the second and third metatarsal bones and the cuneiform bones (second and third), 1.5 cun distal to Jiexi St-41, on the line drawn between Jiexi St-41 and Xiangu St-43, at the point where the pulsation of the dorsalis pedis artery may be palpated.

Needling:

Oblique or perpendicular insertion 0.3 - 0.5 cun

Warnings:

Care should be taken not to puncture the dorsalis pedis artery which lies beneath this point

Classical Needling:

"The Yangming usually has much Qi and much Blood" (Su Wen 素問 ch. 24) implying this channel can normally be needled or bled.
"The foot Yangming is to be pierced 6 fen deep and remain inserted for ten exhalations" (Ling Shu 靈樞 ch. 12).
"It is needled to a depth of three fen, (the needle) is retained for a duration of ten exhalations, and it is moxaed with three cones" (Huangfu Mi 皇甫謐, 3rd Century, Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing 針灸甲乙經).

TCM Actions:

Clears Heat from the Stomach channel
Harmonises the Stomach fu
Calms the Shen
Activates the channel and alleviates pain

TCM Indications:

• Deviation of the mouth and eye, swelling and pain of the face, swelling of the face, toothache, tooth decay, heat and pain of the inside of the mouth.
  
• Abdominal distension with no pleasure in eating, epigastric pain, vomiting.
  
• Fever with absence of sweating, chills and fever with Malarial (瘧, Nue) Disorders.
  
• Mania-Withdrawal (癲狂, Dian Kuang), desires to ascend to high places and sing, discards clothing and runs around.
  
• Swelling and pain of the dorsum of the foot, atrophy disorder of the foot.

I Ching Hexagram:

䷙ Da Xu 大畜 Cultivating the Great

Shared with Gongsun Sp-4. Balanced by ䷬ (Taiyuan Lu-9 or Wenliu LI-6).

Hexagram attributions are my own with an explanation given in the glossary.

Neuroanatomy:

Superficial Innervation: Superficial peroneal nerve from L4 - S1

Dermatome Segment: L5

Trigger Point Associations:

Muscle:
Extensor hallucis brevis

Pain Referral Pattern:
Around point

Indications:
Foot strain

Martial Applications & Effects of Injury:

Electrical as well as a physiological point. Striking here will cause nerve damage with an immediate electrical shock wave rushing up the whole leg. As a Yuan-Source point, it will cause great Qi loss and local pain (Montaigue, Dim Mak Locations, Taijiworld.com).

Major Combinations:

• Facial swelling:
    Chongyang St-42 with Tianshu St-25,Fengling St-40, Lidui St-45 and Xiangu St-43
    (Sun Simiao, 孫思邈, 625: Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang, 備急千金要方, Essential Prescriptions Worth A Thousand Gold).
  
  
• Tooth decay:
    Chongyang St-42 with Qubin GB-7
    (Sun Simiao, 孫思邈, 625: Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang, 備急千金要方, Essential Prescriptions Worth A Thousand Gold).
  
  
• Dian Kuang with desire to ascend to high pladces and sing, discard clothing and run around:
    Chongyang St-42 with Shenmen He-7 and Houxi SI-3
    (Yang Jizhou, 杨继洲, 1601: Zhen Jiu Da Cheng, 針灸大成, Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• Dian Kuang with rash behaviour, desire to ascend to high places and sing, discards clothing and runs around:
    Chongyang St-42 with Fenglong St-40
    (Sun Simiao, 孫思邈, 625: Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang, 備急千金要方, Essential Prescriptions Worth A Thousand Gold).
  
  
• Flaccidity of the legs:
    Chongyang St-42 with Yanglingquan GB-34, Taichong Liv-3 and Qiuxu GB-40
    (Yang Jizhou, 杨继洲, 1601: Zhen Jiu Da Cheng, 針灸大成, Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• One sided Wind (hemiplegia):
    Chongyang St-42 with Lieque Lu-7
    (Yang Jizhou, 杨继洲, 1601: Zhen Jiu Da Cheng, 針灸大成, Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• Problems relating to the Fifth Level of Manifestation of the Soul, equivalent to the Vishuddha Chakra:
    Chongyang St-42 with Renying St-9 and dispersing Taixi Kid-3
    (Yuen, 2005, 3 Spirits & 7 Souls, see notes below).

Notes:

Location of dorsalis pedis pulse

The Su Wen Ch. 20, Discourse on the Three Sections and Nine Indicators, describes "The man [indicator] of the lower section: the foot major yin [locations]... The man [indicator] serves to examine the qi of spleen and stomach". Wang Bing's commentary says this means "This is to say: the spleen vessels. Their movement can be felt at the 'winnower gate (箕門)' section directly below the 'five miles' [section] between the running sinews (趨筋) above the 'fish belly (魚腹)'" (Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen, trans. Unschuld & Tessenow, 2011). Wang (2019, Daoist Internal Mastery) says this means Chengshan Bl-57, Jimen Sp-11 or this point.

This point is also on the 5th trajectory of the Chong mai relating to digestive functions (Yuen, 2005, The Extraoridinary Vessels).

When combined with Renying St-9 and Taixi Kid-3 (dispersing) this point relates to the Fifth Level of Manifestation of the Soul or the Vishuddha chakra concerned with true expression of yourself as an Authentic Character or Realized Being (Yuen, 2005, 3 Spirits & 7 Souls).

Both Renying St-9 and Chongyang St-42 are on branches of the Chong Mai, the extraordinary vessel that runs between the Ren (Yin) and Du (Yang) vessels and combines elements of them both. Taixi Kid-3 is also one of the few points that simultaneously accesses Kidney Yin and Yang, representing this combination's focus on the unity of Yin and Yang, as opposed to some of the other combinations which select points that are an extreme of Yin or Yang.

In Sufism this level would relate to the Valley of Unity described by Attar in the Conference of the Birds as:

"When faces are turned to this desert and wake
All heads are raised from a single neck;
If many you behold or few in the valley
They are all but one, they are one wholly ...
Everything can be summarized into one substance
Everything is one word, even in different shapes"

Here everything becomes a single unity.

In Tung acupuncture this point is called Men Jin Gate of Gold, and often combined with Zusanli St-36 for most Stomach channel and digestive problems (Chu, 2015).

A Shokanten pulse is used to assist in diagnosis where the radial pulse is unclear, or in the comparative analysis of meridians in the upper and lower portions of the body. They are particularly used in psycho-emotional disorders. This point relates to the Middle Jiao, Shaoyin and Spleen.

In early Chinese medicine, the pulse felt near this point, on the dorsum of the foot, was taken as an indication of the health of the Stomach channel (Wang et al., 2012).

Medieval phlebotomy point (John de Foxton, 1408: Liber Cosmographiae, maa.cam.ac.uk)

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

In the Unani Islamic medical practice of Hijama. This point is simply known as the foot point and is mentioned in the following Sunnah:

"Prophet Muhammad Sallallahoo Alaihi Wa Sallam also took hijama on the hip & top of his foot, which explains that hijama at the painful area is also recommended by tibbenabavi.

Reported by Anas razi allaho anh that (while in Ehraam), prophet Muhammad Sallallahoo Alaihi Wa Sallam took hijama on the top of his foot due to the pain that area.
Narrated by Abu Dawood."

Kahn, 2019, http://hijamacups.com/sunnah-points/. Accessed 12 May 2019.

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