The fire needle, referred to as fán zhēn (燔针) and chuàn cì (焠刺) in the Huangdi Neijing, is described in the Ling Shu as: “There are nine types of acupuncture, corresponding to nine changes… the ninth is chuàn cì (焠刺).”
The fire needle therapy involves using specially designed needles that are heated until red hot and then inserted into specific acupuncture points or areas of the body using certain techniques, aiming to eliminate diseases. This method is a traditional acupuncture therapy widely applied in clinical practice, showing good results for many conditions.
The characteristic of fire needle therapy is that the needle body is heated and then inserted into specific acupuncture points or areas of the body, with its therapeutic mechanism based on warmth. The body’s qi and blood prefer warmth and dislike cold; warmth promotes flow and unblocks, while cold causes stagnation and obstruction.
Fire needle therapy utilizes heat to stimulate the meridian qi, harmonizing qi and blood, unblocking the meridians, and regulating the functions of the internal organs.
The Ling Shu states: “How to treat cold bi syndrome? For a noble person, use medicine to warm; for a common person, use fire to burn.” This indicates that fire needle can treat bi syndrome and cold syndrome. The modern application of fire needle is extremely widespread.
Internal Diseases:
Wind-cold cough, wind-cold headache, pain in the brow ridge, gastric ptosis, epigastric pain, allergic asthma, emphysema, facial paralysis, facial muscle spasm, peripheral neuritis, diarrhea, dysentery, edema, impotence, nocturnal emission, enuresis in children, abdominal pain, flank pain, enteritis, hiccups, etc.
External Diseases:
Mastitis, tenosynovial cyst, stenosing tenosynovitis of the thumb, scrofula, lipoma, hemangioma, fibroma, phlebitis, vasculitis, shoulder periarthritis, tennis elbow, erysipelas, gout, osteoarthritis of the knee, cervical spondylosis, lumbar spondylosis, and various difficult pain syndromes.
Gynecological Diseases:
Infertility, acute and chronic adnexitis, uterine fibroids, irregular menstruation, dysmenorrhea, ovarian cysts, vulvar leukoplakia, etc.
Dermatological Diseases:
Neurodermatitis, herpes zoster, eczema, chloasma, acne, psoriasis, urticaria, neurodermatitis, vitiligo, and removal of moles and warts.
Otorhinolaryngological Diseases:
Meibomian gland inflammation, toothache, nasal polyps, tongue swelling, sore throat, allergic rhinitis, etc.
Clinical Treatment:
The patient, Ou Li (pseudonym), a female with alopecia areata for over three months, recently came to the Xinjiang Medical University Affiliated Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Autonomous Region TCM Hospital) for inpatient treatment. The head of the acupuncture department, Ma Zhong, examined the patient, understood her condition, and arranged for her to receive the acupuncture specialty treatment – fire needle. He advised the patient to maintain a cheerful mood, limit screen time, enhance nutrition, avoid staying up late, sleep early, and exercise regularly. The fire needle therapy aims to warm and invigorate the patient’s yang qi, expelling pathogens and promoting the smooth flow of qi and blood. The righteous qi returns to its original position, nourishing the scalp with blood, and generally, new soft hair can be seen at the lesion site after about one month. Below is a video of the patient’s treatment.
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[Follow us for more TCM knowledge]Expert Introduction
Name: Ma Zhong
Department: Acupuncture Department
Position: Department Head
Title: Chief Physician, Master’s Supervisor
Specialty: Proficient in fire needle, balance needle, floating needle, wrist-ankle needle, hook needle, and other special acupuncture techniques, skilled in treating neurological diseases, urological and male diseases, and using intramuscular effect tape technology to treat common sports injuries.
Outpatient Hours: Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday mornings
Name: Wei Jianhua
Department: Acupuncture Department
Title: Chief Physician, Master’s Supervisor
Specialty: Combining fire needle with needle therapy for herpes zoster, with significant efficacy, skilled in acupuncture, fire needle, and acupuncture point embedding therapy for dermatological and neurological diseases.
Consultation Hours: Monday, Friday mornings; Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday afternoons; all day Thursday
END
Source: Acupuncture Department, Zhu Jie
Editor: Ma Ying
Intern Editor: Ma Qian
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