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Huangdi Neijing · The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon
Suwen 41 · Needling for Waist Pain
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The Foot Taiyang vessel causes waist pain drawing into nape, spine, buttocks and back, as though burdened. Needle its proper Taiyang channel in the knee hollow to release blood. Do not draw blood in spring.
Shaoyang causes waist pain as though needles were pricking within the skin, spreading along its course. Bending, straightening and turning to look back are impossible. Needle Shaoyang at the end of the cheng bone to release blood. The cheng bone is the solitary prominence at the knee’s outer border. Do not draw blood in summer.
Yangming causes waist pain preventing a backward glance; turning is as though something were seen, and grief is frequent. Make three punctures in Yangming before the shin, harmonizing above and below and releasing blood. Do not draw blood in autumn.
Foot Shaoyin causes waist pain drawing along the spine’s inner border. Make two punctures in Shaoyin above the inner ankle. Do not draw blood in spring. Excessive blood loss cannot be restored.
The Jueyin vessel causes waist pain like a drawn bow or crossbow string. Needle its vessel outside the fish-belly shape of the calf toward the heel. Follow the course until clustered swellings are felt, then needle. The illness makes the person inclined to speak, yet silent and unclear. Make three punctures.
The Jie vessel causes waist pain drawing to the shoulder, dim vision and occasional involuntary urination. Needle its transverse vessel at the outer border of the knee hollow, between sinew and flesh, to release blood; stop when the blood changes.
The Jie vessel also causes waist pain like a tightening belt, constantly as though the waist were broken, with frequent fear. Needle its millet-sized knotted network in the knee hollow. Blood spurts out; stop when black blood gives way to red.
The Tongyin vessel causes waist pain like a small hammer lodged inside, with sudden swelling. Make three punctures in its vessel above the outer ankle at Juegu’s end. The Yangwei vessel causes waist pain with swelling above the painful place. Needle where it joins Taiyang in the hollow below the calf, about one chi above the ground.
The Hengluo vessel causes waist pain preventing bending and straightening, with fear of falling when leaning back. It comes from lifting a heavy load and injuring the waist: the transverse network breaks and bad blood returns there. Needle between the yang sinews at the knee hollow, several cun above it, placing two punctures transversely to release blood.
The Huiyin vessel causes waist pain with streaming sweat above the painful region. When sweat dries, thirst follows; after drinking, the person wishes to run. Make three punctures in the upper Zhiyang vessel, placed transversely above the qiao region and five cun below the knee hollow. Inspect for abundant vessels and release blood.
The Feiyang vessel causes waist pain surging upward; severe cases bring grief and fear. Needle five cun above the inner ankle, before Shaoyin, at its meeting with Yinwei. The Changyang vessel causes waist pain drawing to the breast, dim vision and, when severe, backward arching and a curled tongue that cannot speak. Make two punctures at the inner sinew, before the great sinew above the inner ankle, behind Taiyin, about two cun above the ankle.
The San vessel causes waist pain with heat; severe heat brings vexation. Below the waist there seems to be a transverse wooden beam; severe cases bring involuntary urination. Make three punctures in the bound vessel at the network’s outer border, between bone and flesh before the knee. The Rouli vessel causes waist pain that prevents coughing, because coughing draws the sinews tight. Make two punctures in this vessel outside Taiyang and behind Shaoyang’s Juegu.
Reading note: The supplied 鴬 and 鴎 in these leg locations follow the contextual shin and calf readings. Named vessels and bone sites remain historical designations. All seasonal blood restrictions, two/three-puncture counts, chi/cun measures, inner/outer distinctions and the two distinct Jie-vessel accounts are retained without standardized modern point numbers or added insertion depths.
Waist pain beside the spine that reaches the head with a stiff, strained feeling, dim eyes and a sense of falling rigidly forward: needle Foot Taiyang in the knee hollow to release blood. With cold above, needle Foot Taiyang and Yangming; with heat above, Foot Jueyin. If bending and straightening are impossible, needle Foot Shaoyang. With heat within and panting, needle Foot Shaoyin and release blood in the knee hollow.
Waist pain with cold above and inability to turn: needle Foot Yangming. With heat above, needle Foot Taiyin; with heat within and panting, Foot Shaoyin. Difficult bowel movements: needle Foot Shaoyin. Lower-abdominal fullness: Foot Jueyin. Pain like a broken waist, with inability to bend, straighten or lift: Foot Taiyang. Pain drawing along the spine’s inner border: Foot Shaoyin.
Waist pain drawing into the lower abdomen and flanks, preventing backward bending: needle where waist and buttocks join, at the paired shen flesh regions. Set the puncture count according to the moon’s growing or waning. Apply the needle and the illness ends immediately. For left-sided illness treat the right; for right-sided illness treat the left.
Reading note: The supplied 控噛 is read through the annotated 控䏚, drawing toward the soft flank region. The supplied 兩踝胂上 is retained as the paired shen flesh region at the waist–buttock junction, following the classical 兩髁胂 context rather than assigning an ankle point. No calendar-based puncture numbers absent from this source passage are added.
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