22.24, 22.25 & 22.26 (Gu Guan, Zhong Guan, Mu Guan)

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These points are good for many kinds of pain, especially when it is present in the heel and feet such as plantar fasciitis, heel pain, and heel bone spurs. As these points are in a bony region, they can also be effective for a variety of bone related disorders including bone swelling, osteomas, and general joint pain. They may also be useful for bone spurs in the spine, sciatica, and related complications. 

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Like many points in the hand, these points are used for pain disorders of the reproductive and gastrointestinal system. In addition to being used for spurs and osteomas, they can treat other masses such as fibroids

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They do also have the function of treating conditions related to masses such as fibroids, osteomas, and bone spurs. 

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Neurologically, the may be used for hemiplegia, and nerve compressions due to excessive bone growth. 

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Comments

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These are the points that first convinced me of the effectiveness of the Master Tung system and for that reason I will share some details of a case study. An elderly man in his 70's reported severe pain in the heel due to bone spurs. The pain was so severe that it was difficult for him to walk, and his doctor had suggested surgery as an option to reduce the pain. Given his age and other factors he did not want to do surgery and came to acupuncture as a last effort. Mu Guan and Gu Guan were used on the contralateral side and following the first treatment the patient reported a major drop in pain level intesnsity and frequency. A second treatment was given, after which the patient reported total pain relief. 

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He was regularly monitored over the next 6 months, and through the entirety of that time the pain never returned. Additionally, I was treating his wife for general arthritis and back pain. After seeing the results of these points for treating her husband, Mu Guan and Gu Guan were added to her treatment and significant improvements were noted. 

 

Patient Sensitivity Notes 

 

As these points are located on the palm they tend to be very sensitive on most patients. For that reason, I tend not to use them for clients new to acupuncture or for conditions that can be addressed with other points. Needling these points on first time acupuncture patients, and for those who are hypersensitive, can sometimes cause people to not want to receive more acupuncture. For these reasons, I tend to use the points only when absolutely necessary to relieve pain related to bone disorders, and when other points are not sufficient to produce a positive result.