Many people are curious about the “Fire Needle” mentioned in the “He’s Acupuncture Three Pass Method” for warming and tonifying.
In this issue, Dr. Zou Kun from Sichuan Province will help us understand
the unique treatment techniques of the Preventive Health Department,
specifically focusing on Fire Needle therapy.
Dr. Zou Kun, a graduate of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, is a chief physician and currently serves as the deputy director of the hospital and the head of the Preventive Health Department. He is a renowned TCM expert in Sichuan Province, a leader in the provincial key specialty (Acupuncture Department), and has received numerous accolades for his contributions to TCM.
He specializes in using traditional TCM therapies such as herbal medicine and acupuncture to treat common and complex diseases in internal medicine, gynecology, and pediatrics. His expertise includes conditions such as stroke, facial paralysis, trigeminal neuralgia, muscle spasms, pediatric tic disorders, tinnitus, insomnia, dizziness, cervical spondylosis, lumbar spondylosis, shoulder and lumbar strain, knee joint diseases, and various pain syndromes. He has published several papers in national and provincial core journals.
What is Fire Needle?
Fire Needle, also known as Bai Zhen (White Needle) or Shao Zhen (Burning Needle), was historically referred to as Fan Zhen (Burning Needle) or Chuan Ci (Quenching Needle), which is one of the Nine Needle Techniques. Fire Needle therapy involves using specially designed needles that are heated until red and then inserted into specific acupoints or areas of the body to eliminate diseases.
Mechanism of Fire Needle Therapy
Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that “the needle uses fire to provide warmth, and without evil, it nourishes and supplements. Fire does not harm the person, but strengthens them.” Fire Needle utilizes its warming properties to dispel cold, alleviate pain, eliminate dampness, and reduce swelling, promoting the circulation of Qi and blood, harmonizing the body’s energy. Additionally, the fire element can expel heat and toxins, embodying the principle of “fire drives out fire” and can also achieve the effect of draining pus and dispersing nodules through bloodletting.
Modern research has shown that the temperature of the Fire Needle can reach up to 700 degrees Celsius. The high temperature of the needle directly reaches the affected area, carbonizing the scar tissue in a small area around the needle, relieving adhesions and improving local blood circulation, thus providing analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and decongestant effects.
Breaking and Establishing with Fire Needle Therapy
Fire Needle’s “breaking” is specifically manifested in:
1. Burns to normal tissue;
2. Loosening of muscle knots;
3. High-temperature destruction of pathological accumulations;
4. Unblocking of stagnant blood and pus.
Fire Needle’s “establishing” is achieved by stimulating the skin, tendons, meridians, and acupoints through the heat of the needle, resulting in:
1. Warming and supplementing deficient organs;
2. Repairing local tissue injuries.
Both “breaking” and “establishing” are not independent; they complement each other. Depending on different diseases, they have varying importance. The ability of Fire Needle to “establish” after “breaking” largely depends on the body’s own Zheng Qi (upright Qi). The processes of “breaking” and “establishing” occur simultaneously at the moment the needle burns the skin and continue throughout the treatment and subsequent recovery process. They are interdependent and dynamically adjusted. “Breaking” is not the ultimate goal but a means to achieve “establishing,” enhancing the body’s self-regulation and promoting changes in the diseased area, thereby creating a healthy local environment or achieving overall recovery.
Indications for Fire Needle Therapy
Muscle and tendon diseases: Chronic soft tissue injuries that form cords and nodules can be treated with multiple applications of Fire Needle, allowing the body to absorb the burned tissue, improving metabolism in the needled area, and eliminating or improving pathological changes such as edema, congestion, exudation, adhesions, calcification, contraction, and ischemia, ultimately reducing or even eliminating the cord-like muscle knots. Therefore, it can treat tension-type headaches, migraines, occipital neuralgia, and joint and muscle pain caused by trauma or chronic strain, including cervical spondylosis, lumbar strain, knee osteoarthritis, and lateral epicondylitis.
Bi Syndrome: Effectively treats pain diseases caused by wind, cold, or dampness, such as headaches, stiff neck, shoulder periarthritis, low back pain, peripheral facial paralysis, rheumatoid arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis.
Skin diseases: Modern studies have confirmed that Fire Needle promotes the infiltration and absorption of normal anti-inflammatory cells, such as leukocytes and macrophages, by damaging the pathological tissue at the site of skin lesions, while stimulating the regeneration of surrounding healthy tissue cells, restoring the original tissue structure of the skin, reducing the area of skin lesions, and achieving the goal of restoring normal skin tissue. It has shown good clinical effects in delaying the progression of skin diseases such as eczema, herpes zoster, acne, folliculitis, neurodermatitis, vitiligo, and psoriasis.
Diseases presenting as lumps: Due to its ability to dissipate hardness and reduce swelling, Fire Needle is suitable for various benign nodules and tumors on the body surface, such as lipomas, fibromas, ganglion cysts, varicose veins, and mammary gland hyperplasia.
Location
3rd Floor, Preventive Health Department
Health Hotline
028-37636606
Dr. Zou: 13688258371
Hospital Address: 1038 Fengming Avenue, Section 3 (about 150 meters towards Meishan from Fuyi Hotel)
Transportation: Buses 51, 52, 53, and 66 can reach directly, and Intercity Bus 20 is also available.
Health Consultation Phone: 028-37636383