Order of Treating and Choosing Points Flashcards
What are the main stages in diagnosing and choosing points for treatment?
1) Make diagnosis.
2) Consider relevant treatment principles.
3) Simplify and prioritise treatment principles.
4) Select points based on treatment principles.
5) Introduce other treatment principles if needed later.
What is involved in the diagnosis stage of treatment planning?
Diagnosis involves identifying the patient’s constitutional factor (CF) and other patterns. These patterns are arranged in a diagram showing how internal, external, and miscellaneous causes contribute to the condition.
How are treatment principles applied to each pattern?
Each pattern has specific treatment principles. For example, deficiency patterns might require “Strengthen Earth” or “Tonify and Warm Spleen Yang,” while full patterns may need “Clear Heat,” “Resolve Damp,” or “Harmonise Liver.”
Why is it important to simplify and prioritise treatment principles?
Simplifying treatment principles avoids unnecessary interventions. Prioritisation focuses on the most critical principles, often based on the ben (root) and biao (outward manifestation) to ensure effective treatment.
What are the different approaches to treating Ben and Biao?
Treat Ben only (e.g., underlying constitutional factor).
Treat Biao first, then ben if symptoms are acute.
Treat both Ben and Biao together, especially when Biao symptoms are significant.
When would you treat only the biao without addressing underlying conditions?
If an external cause (e.g., Wind-Cold or Wind-Heat) must be cleared first.
If symptoms from a full condition (e.g., Damp-Heat in the intestines) are severe and need immediate relief.
When is it appropriate to treat both ben and biao simultaneously?
When a patient has a condition like Spleen Yang Xu with Damp, you may “Clear Damp” and “Tonify and Warm Spleen” in the same session, addressing both root and symptom for balanced treatment.
How do you select points based on treatment principles?
Points are chosen to fulfil specific treatment principles. For example:
Tonify Spleen and Stomach: St 36, Sp 3, St 42, Bl 20, Bl 21
Release External Pathogen (Wind-Cold): LI 4, Lu 7, Bl 12
What role does pulse and tongue diagnosis play in this treatment process?
Pulse and tongue can guide treatment prioritisation, showing if patterns like Damp are present or if the ben (root) treatment alone may resolve biao symptoms. Full, slippery, or wiry pulses, and tongue coating thickness can indicate pathogenic factors.
When might you introduce other treatment principles after initial treatments?
If treating the CF or ben is insufficient, other treatment principles may be introduced for further balance. Once the biao is managed, the focus can shift to deeper, ben-focused treatment.
