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PlumDragonHerbs

February 2015

Herbs for Pain

Traditional Chinese Medicine Methods for Directing a
Formula to a Particular Organ

Understanding Pain in TCM

If there is free flow there is no pain. Yellow Emperors Classic of Internal Medicine
Most theories of pain in Chinese Medicine
associate pain with the disruption of the flow of
Qi and Blood. In the classic texts, pain is most
commonly related to exogenous-Cold, but it is
also understood as relating to Deficiency,
obstruction of Qi/Blood (often food disorders)
and Excess-type-pain (suggestive of Pathogenic

Understanding Pain in
Traditional Chinese
Medicine
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factors). While Blood-stasis can often be seen

in bodily symptoms such as swelling and
hematoma, Qi stagnation is unseen. Most
pain presents with individual variations such as
multiple pathologies and varying root causes.

Continued on

Regional Pain in
Relation to Organs or
Channels
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Herbs that Conduct

Formulas to Particular
Channels
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Pain Transmitted Through Related Organs or Channels

Referred Organ Pain

Location in Body

Lung and Large Intestine

Pain felt in face (nose, throat, lower teeth and

jaw), shoulder, upper back, arm, elbow, hand,
chest, anus.
Pain felt in face (frontal, vertex or forehead,
upper teeth, tongue), epigastric region, general
abdomen, outside of anterior leg and thigh.
Pain felt in face (corners of eye), chest, upper
back, periscapular region, inside arms, bladder.
Pain felt in vertex of head, spine in general,
lumbar spine, and coccyx in particular, lower
abdomen, knees, and feet.
Pain felt in vertex or sides of head, ear, lateral
trunk, and chest, lower abdomen, inner medial
aspects of thigh and leg.

Spleen and Stomach

Heart and Small Intestine
Kidney and Urinary Bladder
Liver and Gallbladder

See Alon Marcus, Foundations for Integrative Musculoskeletal Medicine: An East-West Approach (North Atlantic Books, 2004) 160.

Regional Pain Management

Regional Pain in Relation to Organs or Channels
The more Western concept of referred
pain is understood in TCM to be pain that
is transmitted through or related to Organs
or channels. Although most pains are
generally due to some degree of inhibited
flow of Qi and Blood, formulas and
therapies designed only to move Qi and
Blood will not necessarily be appropriate or
effective to resolve the pain. Treatment of
pain must be specific to the individual being
treated, optimally, with pattern
identification and disease diagnosis guiding
the specific approach and interventions.
With regard to herbal formulas and
liniments, herbs that treat Blood-stasis in

the head would have many general

commonalities, but also significant
differences from herbs that treat Bloodstasis in the foot. In order to tailor an
herbal formula or liniment to a specific
individuals needs it is necessary to use the
proper herbs to direct the formula to the
particular Organ, channel or tissue related
to the pain. (See bulleted list above.)
The following page is a guide to
selecting the proper herbs to tailor a
formula or liniment to the specific needs of
the user.
Continued on
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Regional Pain

Chinese Herb/s

st

1 Metatarsophalangeal joint
Swelling and pain (bunions)
Bones

Cang Zhu

Sinews and bones

Xu Duan

Low Back or lower body

Neck

Chuan Niu Xi, Du Huo, Wu Jia Pi, Luo Shi

Teng, and/or Sang Ji Sheng
Ge Gen, Qiang Huo, and/or Gui Zhi

Shoulder

Qiang Huo, Gui Zhi, and/or Jiang Huang

Left Shoulder

He Shou Wu

Right Shoulder

Huang Qi

TMJ or Temporomaxillary

Ge Gen

Free flow of Qi on left side of body

Chai Hu

Free flow of Qi on right side of body

Sheng Ma

Channels, Collaterals, Network-Vessels,

Muscles and Sinews

Di Long, Chuan Shan Jia and Luo Shi Teng

Gu Sui Bu

Herbs that Conduct Formulas to Particular Channels

Channel
Tai-Yang, Urinary Channel
Tai-Yang , Small Intestine Channel
Yang-Ming, Large intestine Channel
Yang-Ming, Stomach Channel
Shao-Yang, Gall Bladder Channel
Shao-Yang, Triple Warmer Channel
Tai-Yin, Lung Channel
Tai-Yin, Spleen Channel
Shao-Yin, Heart Channel
Shao-Yin, Kidney Channel
Jue-Yin, Pericadium Channel
Jue-Yin, Liver Channel

Herbs
Qiang Huo, Ge Gen, Fang Feng
Gao Ben, Mu Tong, Huang Bai
Cheng Ma, Bai Zhi, Shi Gao, Da Huang
Ge Gen, Bai Zhi, Shi Gao
Chai Hu, Qing Pi
Man Jing Zi, Zhi Zi, Gui Zhi,, Di Gu Pi,
Qing Pi, Fu Zi
Jie Geng, Cang Zhu, Sheng Ma, Bai Zhi
Bai Zhu, Bai Zhi, Cang Zhu, Sheng Ma,
Bai Shao
Xi Xin, Huang Liang
Du Huo, Xi Xin, Rou Gui, Zhi Mu
Chai Hu, Mu Dan Pi
Chuan Xiong, Qing Pi, Chai Hu,Wu Zhu
Yu

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