(1) Needling Back-shu Points

Points: Ganshu (BL 18), Danshu (BL19), Pishu (BL20) and Weishu (BL21).

Technique: Ask the patient to lie prone. Use one-cun filiform needles to puncture the points bilaterally, choosing two pairs of points each time and using points from up to down repeatedly. The needle tip should point obliquely toward the intervertebral foramen, or the needles are inserted perpendicularly, the depth of the insertion deter-mined by the size of the patient. After the arrival of qi, the reinforcing needling manipulation achieved by rotation should be applied until the patient feels his stomach is contracting upward. After that the needles are retained for 15 minutes. Ten sessions of treatment constitute one course, the interval between each course of treatment should be five to seven days. After one to two courses of treatment, improvement should have occurred. But the patient should be told not to stand too long.

(2) Penetrating Puncture from Tiweixue to Tianshu (ST25)

Points: Tiweixue [1.5 cun lateral to Shangwan (CV13) and Zusanli (ST 36)

Technique: Take six-cun needles and perform the penetrating puncture along the skin from Tiweixue to Tianshu (ST25), and put in three to five cun of the needle, giving strong stimulation and twisting the needles left and right simultaneously. The reinforcing needling technique is used on Zusanli (ST 36), and needles should be retained for 30 minutes. The treatment should be given once a day, 10 sessions constituting one course. The patient should take a three-day rest after each course of treatment.

(3) Penetrating Puncture from Youmen (KI21) to Huangshu (KI 16)

Technique: While the patient is supine, take an eight-cun frliform needle of size 28 and insert the needle through the skin from the right Youmen (KI 21) from the upper abdomen. Apply rotating needle manipulation in small amplitude to make the needle pass the abdominal middle line under the skin. Stop the manipulation when the needle r:ip reaches the left Huangshu (KI 16). After that, pull back the needle slowly at an even speed. While the practitioner is withdrawing the needle, he or she should feel the traction under it. When the needle has been withdrawn to the skin level, another penetrating puncture should be conducted. Such manipulation should be repeated several times. Needles should be retained for 20 minutes. Treatment is given once a day, 20 sessions being carried out successively. The effective rate of this method is 90%.

(4) Penetrating Puncture on Jianli (Ren 11)

Technique: With the patient lying supine, take two three-cun needles and insert them into the left and right Jianli (Ren11) under the skin at a depth of two or three cun. After the arrival of qi, lift and thrust the two needles several times, then leave them in the place for 20 minutes. When the needles are removed, a cloth belt of 0.3 cm thick should be used to bind the waist, but it should be taken off before sleep. Ten days of acupuncture treatment constitute one course, with a break of two or three days between two courses.

(5) Penetrating Puncture on Weishangxue

Points: Penetrate puncture from Weishangxue [4 cun lateral to Xiawan (Ren 10)] to Qihai (Ren 6) or Guanyuan (Ren 4), and Zusanli(ST 36)

Technique: With the patient lying supine, insert a five-cun needle of size 26 from Weishangxue, and penetrate the muscle layer. For a patient with a gastroptosis less than 6 cm, the needle tip should point toward Qihai (Ren 6); for a patient with a gastroptosis more than 6 cm, the needle tip should point toward Guanyuan (Ren 4). When the penetrating puncture is completed, the "supporting stomach" manipulation should be performed to assist the lifting of the stomach. During the treatment, Zusanli (ST 36) should be needled bilaterally. The treatment is conducted once every other day, and strong stimulation should be given. Ten to 20 sessions constitute one course.