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Apraxia

How Chinese medicine differentiates apraxia — a failure of the brain's command centre to communicate smoothly with the limbs — into the five patterns you'll actually meet in practice, and the points for each. Supportive care alongside medical neuro-rehabilitation, not a substitute for it. Acupuncture only — no herbs.

This page is educational, for practitioners and students — it is not a diagnostic tool and does not replace a proper in-person assessment. Apraxia is usually a consequence of stroke or other brain injury and needs medical evaluation and structured rehabilitation; acupuncture here is supportive of the underlying pattern, not primary treatment.
General Acupuncture Points

Acupuncture points traditionally used for apraxia — 11 key points, used across the patterns below rather than tied to just one.

PointKey action
G.B.-20Expels exterior Wind. Extinguishes interior Wind. Subdues Liver-Yang.
ST-40Resolves Phlegm and Dampness. Calms the Mind and opens the Mind's orifices.
L.I.-4Expels exterior Wind. Removes obstructions from the channel. Calms the Mind.
ST-36Tonifies Qi and Blood. Tonifies the Stomach and Spleen.
DU-20Extinguishes interior Wind. Subdues Liver-Yang. Benefits the Brain and sense organs.
P-6Opens the chest and moves Qi and Blood. Calms the Mind.
SP-10Cools Blood. Invigorates Blood and eliminates stasis.
BL-23Tonifies the Kidneys and nourishes Kidney-Essence. Benefits bones and Marrow.
KI-3Tonifies the Kidneys (both Yin and Yang). Benefits Essence.
DU-4Tonifies Kidney-Yang and warms the Gate of Life. Benefits Essence.
LR-3Subdues Liver-Yang. Extinguishes interior Wind.
The Five Patterns

↑ reinforcing   ↓ reducing   ⊥ even method.

1. Wind-Phlegm

Clinical manifestations: Dizziness, vertigo, heaviness in the body and limbs, copious white frothy sputum, chest stuffiness, nausea, slurred speech, clumsy uncoordinated movements.
Tongue: Normal or slightly pale body, swollen with teeth marks, white greasy coating. Pulse: Wiry and slippery.
Treatment principle: Transform Wind-Phlegm, stop spasms, strengthen the Spleen, calm the Liver.
Note: no moxa. This site's three Liver-Wind slides are all Fire- or Blood-deficiency-based — none matches a plain excess Wind-Phlegm presentation without a Heat or deficiency marker — no pattern link is given here; points still link fine individually.

2. Phlegm-Heat

Clinical manifestations: Clumsy, sluggish movements, irritability and restlessness, bitter or sticky taste, flushed face, red eyes, thick yellow greasy tongue coating.
Tongue: Red body, slightly swollen, thick yellow greasy coating. Pulse: Slippery and rapid.
Treatment principle: Clear Heat, transform Phlegm, clear Liver/Gall Bladder Heat, settle the mind.
Note: no moxa. Checked directly against this site's Phlegm-Fire-harassing-the-Heart slide, since the names look related — that slide is a Shen-disturbance/severe-agitation picture (palpitations, gurgling throat), not a motor-clumsiness/Liver-Gallbladder-Heat picture like this one — no clean match, no pattern link is given here; points still link fine individually.

3. Qi Deficiency Causing Blood Stagnation View full pattern →

Clinical manifestations: Fixed stabbing pain in the limbs or chest, fatigue worsening with activity, lingering clumsiness after a stroke, shortness of breath, weak voice, pale tongue with dark spots.
Tongue: Pale-dark or pale-purple with stasis spots, teeth marks, thin white coat. Pulse: Deep, fine, choppy.
Treatment principle: Tonify Qi, invigorate Blood, dispel stasis, unblock the channels and collaterals.
Note: moxa applicable on ST-36. Linked to this site's own Liver-Blood-stasis slide via the established extension of that slide to Qi-deficiency-causing-stasis variants (dark spots on an otherwise pale tongue).

4. Kidney Essence Deficiency View full pattern →

Clinical manifestations: Gradual motor decline, lower back and knee soreness and weakness, dizziness, poor memory and concentration, premature greying, frequent nighttime urination.
Tongue: Pale, thin body with little or no coating, possible fine cracks. Pulse: Fine and deep, weak at both Chi positions.
Treatment principle: Nourish Kidney Yin, benefit Essence, fill the Marrow, nourish Blood.
Note: moxa applicable throughout. Direct exact-name match with this site's own Kidney-Essence-deficiency slide.

5. Liver Wind Agitating Internally Due to Liver Yang Rising View full pattern →

Clinical manifestations: Hand or head tremor, severe dizziness with a falling sensation, throbbing distending headache, stiff neck, flushed face and red eyes, irritability with vivid disturbing dreams, slurred speech.
Tongue: Red, stiff or trembling, possibly deviated to one side, thin yellow or scanty coating. Pulse: Wiry, fine, possibly rapid.
Treatment principle: Calm the Liver, extinguish Wind, subdue Yang, clear Heat and drain Fire.
Note: no moxa. Read against this site's own Liver-Fire-generating-Wind slide directly — its tremor/irritability/red-face-and-eyes/dizziness/dream-disturbed-sleep presentation matches this pattern closely, a better fit than the plain Liver-Yang-rising slide (no tremor) or the Yin-deficiency-driven Yang-rising variants (no Wind/tremor emphasis).
Related conditions

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