↑ reinforcing ↓ reducing ⊥ even method.
1. Painful Obstruction with Wind-Cold-Damp
Clinical manifestations: Deep, achy joint pain; pain worse in cold or damp weather; heaviness or numbness in the limbs; swelling without redness or heat; stiffness eases with warmth.
Tongue: Pale, slightly swollen body with teeth marks, white greasy coating, moist surface. Pulse: Wiry and tight, or slow and soggy.
Treatment principle: Warm the channels, disperse Cold, dry Dampness, unblock the obstruction.
Warm and disperse Cold-Damp
Note: moxa applicable throughout. No deck on this site has a Wind-Cold-Damp Bi-syndrome category, so no pattern link is given here.
2. Painful Obstruction due to Damp-Heat in the Channels
Clinical manifestations: Joints red, swollen, hot to touch; severe pain worse with pressure and warmth, better with cold; heavy, aching limbs; fever, thirst, dark scanty urine.
Tongue: Red body, possibly slightly swollen, yellow greasy coating. Pulse: Slippery and rapid.
Treatment principle: Clear Heat, dry Dampness, strengthen the Spleen.
Note: no moxa. No deck on this site has a Damp-Heat Bi-syndrome category, so no pattern link is given here.
3. Painful Obstruction with Liver and Kidney Deficiency
Clinical manifestations: Chronic dull, aching pain; lower back and knee soreness and weakness; worse markedly in cold, damp weather; fatigue, pale complexion, lack of stamina; numbness or tingling; stiffness and limited movement, possibly deformity.
Tongue: Pale, thin body, thin white coating; in chronic cases fine cracks may appear. Pulse: Fine, weak, slow; the Chi position especially deep and weak.
Treatment principle: Tonify Liver and Kidney, nourish Blood, gently expel Wind-Damp-Cold.
Note: moxa applicable on the tonifying points. No deck on this site combines Liver and Kidney deficiency into a single Bi-syndrome slide, so no pattern link is given here.
4. Painful Obstruction with Qi and Blood Deficiency
Clinical manifestations: Dull, lingering joint pain; numbness or tingling in the limbs; worse with exertion, better with rest; fatigue and weakness; pale face and lips; poor appetite.
Tongue: Pale body, possibly thin with teeth marks, thin white coating. Pulse: Fine, weak, may be slow.
Treatment principle: Tonify Qi and Blood, warm the channels, nourish Blood.
Note: moxa applicable. No deck on this site combines Qi and Blood deficiency into one slide, so no pattern link is given here.
5. Phlegm in the Channels
Clinical manifestations: Fixed, stabbing joint pain; firm or hard swelling; subcutaneous nodules or lumps near joints; purple or dark skin discoloration; stubborn numbness or heaviness.
Tongue: Purple body with stasis spots, white greasy coating, distended sublingual veins. Pulse: Wiry and choppy, or wiry and slippery if Phlegm predominates.
Treatment principle: Drain Dampness, transform Phlegm, unblock the collaterals.
Note: no moxa. No deck on this site has a Phlegm-in-the-channels Bi-syndrome category, so no pattern link is given here.
Clinical manifestations: Fixed, stabbing pain that doesn't move; pain worse at night; joint deformities and hard nodules; dark purplish lips or nails; dark purple tongue with stasis spots.
Tongue: Dark purple body with stasis spots, distended sublingual veins, thin white coat. Pulse: Choppy or wiry.
Treatment principle: Invigorate Blood, dispel stasis, unblock the channels.
Note: no moxa. Matches
Liver-Blood stasis — dark purplish lips/nails and a dark purple tongue with stasis spots are shared discoloration markers.