浮白 : Fubai : Floating White

Location Guides:

Classifications:

Trigger point (Travell & Simons, 1998, Trigger Point Manual)

Meetings:

Meeting of Gall Bladder with Bladder

Location:

Posterior to the ear, along a curved line drawn from Tianchong GB-9 to Wangu GB-12 running within the hairline and more or less parallel to the line of the rim of the ear, in a depression about one third of the distance between Tianchong GB-9 and Wangu GB-12.

Needling:

Transverse insertion 0.5 - 1.5 cun in the direction of symptoms or to connect with other points.

Classical Needling:

"The Shaoyang usually has little Blood and much Qi" (Su Wen 素問 ch. 24) implying this channel should normally be needled.
"The foot Shaoyang is to be pierced 4 fen deep and remain inserted for five exhalations" (Ling Shu 靈樞 ch. 12).
"It is needled to a depth of three fen, and moxaed with two cones" (Huangfu Mi 皇甫謐, 3rd Century, Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing 針灸甲乙經).

TCM Actions:

Clears the head and benefits the neck region
Activates the channel and alleviates pain

TCM Indications:

• Headache, heaviness of the head, chills and fever, toothache, deafness, tinnitus.
  
• Stiffness and pain of the neck, goitre, swelling and pain of the neck, Throat Painful Obstruction (喉痹, Hou Bi).
  
• Fullness of the chest with dyspnoea, chest pain, cough with expectoration of phlegm and foam.
  
• Pain of the shoulder and arm, inability to raise the arm, flaccidity of the legs with inability to walk.

Neuroanatomy:

Superficial Innervation: Greater occipital nerve from C2

Dermatome Segment: C2

Trigger Point Associations:

Muscle:
Temporalis

Pain Referral Pattern:
To posterior temporal region

Indications:
Headache and toothache with no restriction in jaw opening ; Feeling teeth do not meet right

Martial Applications & Effects of Injury:

See Montaigue, Dim Mak Locations, Taijiworld.com for explanation of effects.

Major Combinations:

• Toothache and tooth decay:
    Fubai GB-10 with Wangu GB-12
    (Haungfu Mi, 皇甫謐, 282: Zhen Jiu Jia Yi Jing, 針灸甲乙經, Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).

Notes:

The name of this point "Floating White" both indicating Yang properties and with "floating" implying the Exterior with its floating pulse properties, "white" perhaps indicating the connection of Taiyang to the Lung, along with its indications for head and neck problems makes it a suitable candidate for a head-Shu for the Bladder.

In Tibetan medicine:
Moxa point (AMNH, Tibetan Medical Paintings)

Reference Notes:

Basic information on location, needle depth, TCM actions, indications and combinations is taken from Deadman et al (2001): A Manual of Acupuncture with additional anatomical information researched by reference to Gray's Anatomy (38th Ed., 1995) unless otherwise referenced. Images were found on acupunctureschoolonline.com and can be traced back to Claudia Focks (2008) Atlas of Acupuncture originally. I cannot claim any credit or rights over them. Other sources should be quoted in the text.

For some of the more unusual terms I have created a glossary here