Diseases 3, body and limbs

Water swelling (水肿 shuǐ zhǒng): Puffy swelling of the face, limbs, or whole body without heat, redness, or pain. It occurs as a result of impairment of the lung’s governance of the waterways, the spleen’s action of warming and transforming water-damp, and the kidney’s function of steaming the fluids. A distinction is made between yīn water and yáng water.

• Yīn water predominantly from kidney yáng vacuity or spleen-kidney yáng vacuity (sometimes with static blood arising from qì vacuity). It manifests in swelling below the waist, usually affecting the feet and ankles. It pits under finger pressure and that does not rebound quickly after pressure is released.
• Yáng water is water swelling mostly attributed to wind and water contending with each other, which is wind-heat or wind-cold affecting the lung’s governance of the waterways, preventing water from being moved away from the exterior. This affects the head and upper body first and may spread downward. It rebounds more easily after pressure is released.

Water swelling is distinguished from qì swelling, attributed to qì stagnation and water-damp, in which the flesh rebounds immediately after pressure is released. It is also distinguished from toxin swelling, which is localized red, hot, and tender swelling.

Yellow swelling (黄胖 huáng pàng): Also called yellow obesity. Swelling of the face and ankles with a withered-yellow facial complexion, together with fatigued spirit and lack of strength. It is sometimes associated with nausea and vomiting of yellow water, and a desire to eat uncooked rice, tea leaves, and coal. This is now known to be caused by hookworm infestation, anemia, or malnutrition.

Wilting (痿证 wěi zhèng): A disease characterized by weakness and limpness of the sinews that in severe cases prevent the lifting of the arms and legs. It is attributable to liver-kidney depletion, spleen-stomach vacuity, or lung heat with damage to liquid.

See also the following:

• Blood stasis wilting
• Blood vacuity wilting
• Bone wilting
• Damp-heat wilting
• Damp phlegm wilting
• Dryness-heat wilting
• Flesh wilting
• Qì vacuity wilting
• Sinew wilting
• Skin and body hair wilting
• Vessel wilting
• Yīn vacuity wilting

Impediment (痹 bì): A class of diseases arising when wind, cold, and dampness combine and invade the channels giving rise to pain in the joints and flesh, stiffness of the joints, and sometimes numbness of the flesh. Wind, cold, and dampness all impede the flow of qì and blood, causing pain. Phlegm and blood stasis may also be factors. Signs differ depending on the prevalence of the evils. Impediment corresponds in biomedicine to arthritis, sciatica and other musculoskeletal diseases.

• Prevalence of wind causes wandering pain. This form is called wind impediment (风痹 fēng bì) or moving impediment (行痹 xíng bì).
• Prevalence of dampness causes heaviness and pain. This form is called damp impediment (湿痹 shī bì) or fixed impediment (着痹 zhuó bì).
• Prevalence of cold causes the most intense pain. This form is called cold impediment (寒痹 hán bì) or painful impediment (痛痹 tòng bì).
• Wind-cold-damp causing any type of impediment can transform into heat, which causes vexing pain and heat in the joints. This is called heat impediment (热痹 rè bì).
• Blood impediment (血痹 xuè bì) is an impediment pattern that results from evils entering the blood aspect in patients suffering from qì-blood vacuity. It is marked by numbness and tingling, pain in the limbs, and a pulse that is fine and tight at the cubit position.
• Impediment affecting the whole of the body is called generalized impediment (周痹 zhōu bì).

See also the following:

• Joint-running wind
• Crane’s-knee wind

Impediment is associated with loss of normal mobility, a characteristic shared by wilting (痿 wěi). However, impediment is associated with pain and numbness, while wilting is marked by weakness and limpness of especially the lower limbs. In acumoxatherapy, many acupoints treat both conditions, as indicated by the compound term wilting-impediment (痿痹 wěi bì), which refers to weakness, pain, and numbness of the lower limbs.

Leg qì (脚气 jiǎo qì): A disease characterized by numbness, pain, limpness, and in some cases any of a variety of possible signs such as hypertonicity, swelling, redness, or wilting of or heat in the calf, and in advanced stages by abstraction of spirit-mind, heart palpitation, panting, oppression in the chest, nausea and vomiting, and deranged speech. Leg qì arises when externally contracted damp evil and wind toxin or accumulating dampness due to damage by excessive consumption of rich food engenders heat and pours down into the legs. Chest and abdominal signs are attributed to leg qì surging into the heart.

Biomedical correspondence: beriberi (attributed to vitamin B₁ deficiency).

See also the following:

• Damp leg qì
• Dry leg qì
• Cold-damp leg qì
• Damp phlegm leg qì

Injuries

• Crick in the neck
• Bone fracture
• Dislocation
• Sprain
• Leaky shoulder wind (frozen shoulder)
• Elbow taxation (tennis elbow)
• Incised wound
• Wrenching-contusion lumbar pain