Chief physician Zhang Tang-fa’s experience of acupuncture for gouty arthritis

Abstract

Skillful in the treatment of gouty arthritis (GA) by integrated therapies of Chinese and Western medicine, chief physician Zhang Tang-fa proposes to ‘deal with the exterior with the needles, and attack the interior with the drugs, by integrated application of acupuncture and herbal medicine’, in combination with comprehensive intervention of dietetic therapy and health education. In the treatment of GA, he adopts the syndrome differentiation based upon the pathogenic factors, in combination of syndrome differentiation based upon the six meridians, to reinforce and benefit the spleen and kidney, clear away heat and remove dampness as the therapeutic principle. By acupuncture mainly at the acupoints of the Spleen and Liver Meridians, he also proposes to select the acupoints by the theory of Na Zi Fa (earthly branch method) of Zi Wu Liu Zhu (midnight-noon ebb-flow), and to puncture the surrounding area of the involved joints shallowly by multiple needles as the major needling method, simultaneously with the reinforcing and reducing manipulations based upon the respiration. In the treatment, acupuncture and acupoint-injection are often used. In diet, low purine diet is often suggested. In health education, the patients are often instructed to understand the disease correctly, eliminate fears and cooperate with doctor’s treatment positively.

摘要

张唐法主任医师善于采用中西医结合治疗痛风性关节炎(GA), 倡导针治其外、药攻其内、针药并用, 配以 食疗、健康教育等综合干预方式。在治疗GA时, 他采用病因辨证结合六经辨证, 以补益脾肾, 清热利湿为治则; 针灸脾经、肝经穴为主, 并倡导子午流注纳子法取穴; 以多针浅透刺受累关节周围为主要针刺方法, 同时采用呼吸 补泻手法。治疗时常采用针刺、穴位注射的方法。饮食上以低嘌呤饮食为主。健康教育方面倡导患者正确认识疾病, 消除恐惧心理, 积极配合医生治疗。