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The Back Transport Points and Alarm Points

The back transport points are in the back region, and the alarm points are in the front of the body. They are close to the internal organs; therefore qi from the organs can easily infuse into these points. Clinically, they help to evaluate the status of the internal organs as they can reflect the problems in the corresponding organs. For example, when experiencing stomach pain, zhong wan (Cv 12) may appear tenderness or sensitive reaction, which is the location of the back transport point for the stomach.

All of the back transport points are located on the back sections of the bladder meridian, and they are named according to their corresponding organs in Chinese. Stimulating them can directly regulate the functions of their corresponding organs; therefore they are frequently used in the treatment of yin organs (the lung, spleen, heart, liver and kidney) diseases. Moreover, they are also used in tissue or structural problems that related to these organs. For example, the liver's point gan shu (Bl 18) can be selected for problems like vision difficulty and tendon contractions; the kidney's point shen shu (Bl 23) can be selected for ear ringing, poor hearing, impotence, and bone diseases.

The alarm points are frequently used in the problems of yang organs or meridians (the stomach, gallbladder, bladder, large and small intestines). For example, for stomach pain zhong wan (Cv 12) will be selected; for abdominal pain or diarrhea tian shu (St 25) will be selected; sciatica zhong ji (Cv 3) will be selected.

For best results, in the treatment of yin organ diseases, it is advised to select a corresponding back transport point as the major acupoint and then in conjunction with its alarm point as assistant. On the other hand, for yang organ diseases, it is advisable to select a corresponding alarm point as the major acupoint and then select its back transport point as assistant. For example, for treating stomach pain, a needle will first be inserted on zhang wan (Cv 12) and then wei shu (Bl 21); for lung diseases, stimulation is first applied on fei shu (Bl 13) and then on zhong fu (Lu 1).

Table of Back Transport Points and Alarm Points of the Yin and Yang Organs

The Back Transport Points and Alarm Points