Notes for the following treatments:

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Abbreviations used: CV/GV = Ren/Du, HP (Heart Protector) = Pericardium (P), Aggressive Energy (AE).
All points needled using tonification technique except for certain recognised protocols, such as AE drain.
Moxa cones applied before treatment except where contraindicated.
Number of cones and needle depth taken from JR Worsley's Point Reference Guide.
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Friday, February 25, 2011

Patient 24: Treatment 2

See the first treatment for this patient given in the blog of 19 Feb

My notes to patient’s second treatment:

Her element:  I can at the moment see no other element than Wood, because of the emotion, the colour and the voice.  In view of the changes that have occurred as a result of treatment 1, I feel increasingly confident that I am probably treating the right element, but need a few more treatments for this to be confirmed.

Changes since treatment 1:

Changes the patient herself noticed:
Had dry eyes when going into the cold for the first two days after treatment, then runny eyes started again.  She was amazed at the change.  Her right wrist “felt as light as a feather” for the day after the treatment.  A little less pain.

Changes I noticed:
Eyelids no longer red-rimmed.  Better colour on her face.  Brighter look generally.

Treatment given:   

1                    Re-checked the Akabanes, this time on both hands and feet.  Corrected the following imbalances:  SI and Ht, both still with excess energy on the right, imbalance corrected on Ht, but still a little there on SI.  Ki, excess energy on the right, imbalance corrected.
2                    SI-Bl block again (SI 19, Bl 1).  Immediate change of colour
3                    Bl 38 (43)
4                    Li 4, GB 37 (transfer from Lu to Li, and then from Li to GB)

Time of next treatment (third):  Next week

Proposals for next treatment:
Check whether any other entry/exit blocks have occurred.  AEPs or CV (RM) 8? 

Monday, February 21, 2011

Changes to this blog

By now readers of this blog, and of my associated blog, Nora Franglen’s Blog, will have got a good idea of the kind of simple treatments I do.  And if they have not, then I suggest they go slowly through the treatments again.  I think, therefore, that I will spend more time explaining the importance of specific areas of practice, as I have done with the last entry, Patient 24 Wood.  You will see that I have gone in detail through the importance of doing an Akabane test and correcting any imbalances found.  The Akabane correction is an effective and quick way of helping correct any discrepancies in energy between the left and the right sides of the body.  Any marked imbalance is often the reason why one-sided symptoms occur.  For details of how to carry out an Akabane test, see my Handbook of Five Element Practice, page 62 (available through our website www.sofea.co.uk).

In my patient, for example, I found an excessive build-up of energy in four meridians which run down the hand to the fingers, and this was particularly marked in the two, the Small Intestine and the Heart, which pass over and through the pisiform bone, which is where she is experiencing pain.  Having corrected this imbalance during this first treatment, I will be interested to see whether the patient notices any improvement in the pain she is experiencing in her right wrist.  This pain can be viewed as being the result of an excessive accumulation of energy on the right side of her body with a resultant depletion on the left.

I will also be interested to see whether clearing the SI/Bl block will have relieved a similar kind of build-up, this time around both eyes.  I view symptoms of the kind the patient was experiencing, which were excessively runny, red-rimmed eyes with buzzing in the ears, as a sign of a blockage to the flow of energy as it tries to pass from the end point of the Small Intestine at SI 19 at the ears to the first point of the Bladder at Bl 1, at the corner of the eye.

A glance at all the 24 treatments I have listed so far will show how important I regard clearing entry/exit blocks as being, and how often they appear.  Clearing them is like releasing a tourniquet, or opening a sluice gate to a dam.  The pain at the points can often be quite sharp for a time, as the renewed flow of energy pushes past where it was dammed up, but the relief felt can be enormous and immediate.   Many physical symptoms simply disappear when we do this.

It is also important not to forget that a block also represents blocked energy at the emotional level, too, which is potentially much more debilitating than a purely physical block.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Patient 24: Treatment (?Wood)

Patient:           Female, age 45

Element:         ?Wood

Number of years coming for treatment:  New patient:  first treatment

Number of prior treatments:  N/A

Initial problems today:   Very painful osteoarthritis in the right wrist, centred around the pisiform bone.  Been to numerous specialists.  Recently surgery has been suggested, which she is refusing.  Runny eyes, particularly when goes out into the cold, to the extent that the tears pour down her cheeks.  Very embarrassing socially.  Eyes very red-rimmed.   Buzzing in ears.  Toes on both feet are cold, and she often cannot feel any sensation in them. The greatest trauma in her life is her relationship with one son who refuses to see her any more.

Treatment given:   

1                    AE drain, slight AE on HP and Ht.
2                    SI – Bl block, Si 19 – Bl 1.  Redness around eyes immediately improved.  Her colour changed, and her skin became pinker. 
3                    GB 40, Liv 3
4                    Test for Akabane imbalance (because of the very marked symptom on one wrist only):  very great discrepancy between the left and right side on SI (20/4 passes), Ht (15/6), TH 12/5) and HP (14/7).  This indicated that there was excess energy on the right side in all four officials, with severe depletion on the left. This may go some way to explain the pain around the pisiform bone.  I needled the junction points of all four officials on the left side to draw the energy across to the left, and also needled the source points on the left on those officials where there still remained an imbalance.  Still some discrepancy remained after this treatment, so will re-check again next time.  I concentrated so hard on doing this correction, that I forgot to check the Akabanes on the 6 foot meridians, so will have to do that next time!  (For how to carry out this very important Akabane test, see my Handbook which describes the procedure in detail).
5                    GB 40, Liv 3 again to complete the treatment on the Wood element

At the end of treatment:    Colour changed to a healthier colour after the block was cleared.  She looked much happier, and walked out of the room with a little more firmness in her step. All pulses had improved, particularly after the SI/Bl block was cleared.

Time of next treatment:  Next week

Proposals for next treatment:   Re-check all Akabanes.  Check whether SI – Bl
block is still there, as her runny eyes have been with her for years, and blocks may
take time to clear. Then Bl 38 (43), followed by source points or transfer into Wood.
Since there is rarely more energy in Water (mother) than Wood (child), it is unusual
to be able to use tonification points.  Instead, we often use a transfer of energy from
Grandmother to Grandchild, Liv 4, which takes from Metal to Water. The treatment
can be completed by then needling GB 37, the junction point, to draw energy from Liv
to GB.  It is good to do this in the initial stages of treatment, but GB 37 can be
omitted once treatment is under way, since yin and yang will share energy
between them.  At the start of treatment it is good to address both yin and yang
officials, to “give each of them a bit of love”, as JR told us.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Patient 23: Treatment (Earth)

Patient:           Female, age 36

Element:         Earth

Number of years coming for treatment:  11

Number of prior treatments:  Comes once or twice a year now

Problems today:   Nasty flu bug, with blocked sinuses, headaches, aching joints, painful earache and sore throat.  Very tired.  Been on antibiotics for 5 weeks to try and clear the blocked ears.

Treatment given:   

1                    Co – St block, Co 20 – St 1
2                    Bl 38 (43)
3                    AEPs (Bl 20 and 21)
4                    St 42, Sp 3


At the end of treatment:   Colour changed to a healthier colour after the block was cleared.  She had been very white when she came in, probably due to the block on the Metal element.  Her natural warm-yellow colour started to come back as treatment progressed.  Her pulses had been very low all round, but picked up surprisingly quickly, particularly after Bl 38 (43).  Was very perky as she left

Time of next treatment:  She will phone for another treatment in about 2 weeks if she still feels low in energy, but she usually revives very quickly after one treatment.  People who have had many years of treatment usually need very little to set them on their way again.

Proposals for next treatment:   This would depend on why she feels she needs
another treatment.

Patient 22: Treatment (?Fire) (?Inner Fire)

Patient:  Male, age 26

Element:  ? Fire (?Inner Fire)

Number of years coming for treatment:  New patient – treatment 1

Number of prior treatments:  None


Problems today:   Had abdominal surgery two months ago, stomach still swollen and painful, very tired indeed, sleeplessness, lack of ability to concentrate.  His colour was very greyish-white, and his voice totally lacked energy.

Treatment given:   

1                    AE drain, to my surprise no AE
2                    TH 4, HP 7
3                    Husband/Wife:  Bl 67, Ki 7, Ki 3, Li 4, SI 4, Ht 7
4                    CV 14 (could not do CV 8 because of surgical scar) (we tend to start with CV 8 and then move on to the more powerful point CV 14 later on)
5                    TH 4, HP 7


At the end of treatment:   I think he may be Inner Fire, but since I am not even sure that he is Fire, I will just start with Outer Fire, for at least this treatment and possibly one or two more, depending on how sure I begin to feel that it is not Outer Fire.  He still looked very tired, but he made better eye contact, and managed to smile as he left.  It is too early days to be sure of the element, but he seemed to have difficult sorting his words out, which made me think more of Inner Fire.

Time of next treatment:  He has to go to another practitioner for the next few months as he will be away at college.  I have told him he needs to phone the other practitioner immediately for an appointment, as he needs another treatment in the next week.  He was keen to do this.

Proposals for next treatment:  If I was continuing to treat him, I would first check for H/W again, just in case I had not cleared it.  Then I would definitely like to start the treatment with Ki 24 (Spirit Burial Ground).  He is a prime candidate for this, as he is very low in spirit, almost as if his spirit is indeed buried.   I would then think of Bl 38 (43) to try and bring some warmth to his blood and thus to his Fire element.  I would finish on tonification points, if I find there is enough in Wood to pass on to its child, Fire.