Also fifty-year-old’s shoulder; frozen shoulder. Pain and reduced movement in the shoulder. Leaky shoulder wind is attributed to excessive fatigue creating vacuity that wind-cold exploits to enter the body; hence the name leaky shoulder wind. In accordance with the observation made in The Inner Classic (内经 nèi jīng) that cold is associated with contraction and tension, the wind-cold invades the sinews and vessels, causing qì and blood to stagnate; hence the popular English name frozen shoulder accords with the pathomechanism described by the Chinese. Since is most common in people of approximately 50 years old, it is often called fifty-year-olds’ shoulder.
Acumoxatherapy: Base treatment mainly on three yáng channels of the hand. Select LI-15 (Shoulder Bone, 肩髃 jiān yú), SI-9 (True Shoulder, 肩贞 jiān zhēn), LI-14 (Upper Arm, 臂臑 bì nào), LI-11 (Pool at the Bend, 曲池 qū chí), LI-4 (Union Valley, 合谷 hé gǔ), and ST-38 (Ribbon Opening, 条口 tiáo kǒu); needle with drainage.
Point selection according to causes: For prevalence of wind, add GB-20 (Wind Pool, 风池 fēng chí), TB-5 (Outer Pass, 外关 wài guān), and LU-7 (Broken Sequence, 列缺 liè quē). For prevalence of cold, add TB-14 (Shoulder Bone-Hole, 肩髎 jiān liáo) and SI-10 (Upper Arm Transport, 臑俞 nào shù), using warm needle (burning moxa on needles) or moxa on ginger. For prevalence of dampness, add SP-9 (Yīn Mound Spring, 阴陵泉 yīn líng quán) and ST-36 (Leg Three Lǐ, 足三里 zú sān lǐ).
Point selection according to location: For pain on the greater yīn (tài yīn) channel, add LU-5 (Cubit Marsh, 尺泽 chǐ zé) and SP-9 (Yin Mound Spring, 阴陵泉 yīn líng quán). For pain on the yáng brightness (yáng míng) or lesser yáng (shào yáng), add ST-36 (Leg Three Lǐ, 足三里 zú sān lǐ) and GB-34 (Yáng Mound Spring, 阳陵泉 yáng líng quán). For pain on the greater yáng (tài yáng) channel, add SI-3 (Back Ravine, 后溪 hòu xī) and ST-38 (Ribbon Opening, 条口 tiáo kǒu) joining BL-57 (Mountain Support, 承山 chéng shān).