- Irregular diet causes the patterns of Damp-Heat, Cold-Dampness and
Stomach-Spleen deficiency - Excessive sex and overwork cause the patterns of Kidney-Liver deficiency and
Blood stasis in the channels - Trauma causes the pattern of Blood stasis in the channels
- Shock leads to the pattern of Heart-Spleen collapse.
The relationships between aetiological factors and patterns are illustrated in Figure 28.1(526).
The symptoms and signs of Atrophy Syndrome may have some similarities with those of Painful
Obstruction Syndrome and Wind-stroke. Although these three conditions have very different
pathologies from the point of view of Western medicine, in Chinese medicine there are
similarities. In particular, if we consider the beginning-middle stages of Atrophy Syndrome and
compare its symptoms to Painful Obstruction Syndrome and Wind-stroke, we see that all three
conditions are characterized by obstruction of muscles, sinews and channels by pathogenic
factors.
However, there are also differences between Atrophy Syndrome, Painful Obstruction Syndrome
and Wind-stroke, and these are summarized in Table 28.2Table 28.2.
Differentiation and Treatment
Generally speaking, acupuncture is more relevant than herbal medicine for the treatment of
Atrophy Syndrome as it provides a direct and immediate stimulation of Qi and Blood in the
channels. Herbal treatment, however, provides a useful adjuvant to the therapy. Before
discussing the treatment of individual patterns, we can discuss the general treatment of the
channels with acupuncture as this is basically the same for all patterns, except for the differences
in needling method used.
Acupuncture
The "Simple Questions" in chapter 44 suggests using predominantly points from the
Bright-Yang channels (Stomach and Large Intestines).
The main points to stimulate Qi and Blood and eliminate pathogenic factors from the channels in
Atrophy Syndrome are:
Arm