Menstrual pain attributed to blood stasis obstructing the thoroughfare (chōng) and controlling (rèn) vessels and the uterine vessels and is characterized by stabbing pain in the smaller abdomen before or during menstruation, scant clotted menstrual flow, and relief from discomfort after passing clots.
Medicinal therapy: Move stasis and quicken the blood using Infradiaphragmatic Stasis-Expelling Decoction (膈下逐瘀汤gé xià zhú yū tāng), Amber Powder (琥珀散hǔ pò sǎn), or Leonurus (Motherwort) Paste (益母草膏 yì mǔ cǎo gāo).
Acumoxatherapy: Base treatment on the CV, SP, and LR. Select CV-3 (Central Pole, 中极 zhōng jí), BL-32 (Second Bone-Hole, 次髎 cì liáo), SP-8 (Earth’s Crux, 地机 dì jī), SP-10 (Sea of Blood, 血海 xuè hǎi), ST-29 (Return, 归来 guī lái), CV-6 (Sea of Qì, 气海 qì hǎi), LR-3 (Supreme Surge, 太冲 tài chōng), and SP-6 (Three Yīn Intersection, 三阴交 sān yīn jiāo); needle with drainage. If there are purple clots in the menstrual flow, add LR-2 (Moving Between, 行间 xíng jiān).