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An Alarm Condition: Hidden Pain at Mu Points

By Michael Turk (NCCA)

The ancient Chinese medical classics teach that the superior physician treats to prevent disease, while the inferior physi-cian treats only the disease already present. Preventive medicine requires early detection. This philosophical approach is especially important when one can detect a condition that could be very serious, affects internal organs, and will be irreversible.

In my health practice, first as a masseur and later as an acupuncturist, I have always tested the front mu acupoints any time new patients show signs of a serious disorder. If the patient has a serious problem and does not know it, or if they report intensified pain during abdominal massage, I will then test for an alarm condition by pressing the mu points with light but steady pressure. I judge the various qualities of pain at each mu point to determine the seriousness of the suspected disorder. In about one in five hundred patients, I find unbearable pain when pressing lightly on a mu point, when the patient had not previously been aware of any pain there. In the case of severe hidden pain at mu points, I advise the patient to get a thorough Western medical exam on the alarmed organ.

If the Western diagnosis confirms that the organ is stressed but not damaged, there is still time to avert a serious health crisis. There are many benefits to using both Western medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine when a patient has a serious disorder. The most important advantage is that the patient's doctor is familiar with the case if a crisis manifests. An added benefit is the confirmation that mu points are good indicators of an impending health crisis.

This article will describe my approach to avoiding a serious health crisis by testing the front mu acupoints and educating the patient as to what that peculiar alarm reaction means.

How to Read an Ahshi Acupoint

Reactive front mu points are one type of ahshi point. Ahshi literally translates to, “Ah yes!” meaning, “That's it!” Ahshi acupoints (ahshi xue), also known as pressure pain points, are often associated with bi blockages and indicated in treatments for chronic pain syndromes. During an examination a patient says, “That's it!” when tender points are pressed.

To read an ahshi point, press and hold the spot on the body while asking for feedback from the patient. When performing a pressure pain test at a spot on the body, hold for up to one minute. Constant, light pressure for at least ten seconds is necessary or the test will be inaccurate. Support the finger or thumb that is pressing by bracing your hand with the other fingers. Before you press, ask the patient to describe any pain. As you press, feel for tissue changes at the blockage under pressure. Notice the patient's facial expression. Observe changes in the breathing pattern.

I define “light pressure” as more than touching but not too heavy or too deep. It's not always the same pressure but varies from patient to patient. It's a level of pressure seeking a sensation between pleasure and pain. While pressing, you feel the body pushing against the finger or thumb. Ask the patient, “As I hold the pressure, do you feel pain?” “Does it hurt?” If they say, “Yes,” ask them to rate the pain on a scale of one to ten. You may ask for a verbal description such as mild, uncomfortable, distressing, horrible, or excruciating. Then ask, “Does the pain get better, worse, or stay the same?”

If you press and hold any point on the body with constant pressure for one minute and the pain intensity slowly improves, it is a sign of a deficiency energy (qixu) condition. When the pain gets worse with constant pressure over a minute or two, it is an excess energy (qishi) condition. When steady pressure is applied at a bi blockage with combined excess and deficiency syndromes, the pain stays the same or gets worse.

The general rule for the pressure pain test is that pain gets worse with an excess condition and relieves with a deficiency condition. In the case of ahshi testing of “at risk” internal organs, the pain can be distinctive. To test for the degree of shi excess during a xu deficiency condition, check for pain at back shu points and test for front mu pain that slowly worsens until extremely intolerable pain interrupts the test.

What Is a Front Mu (Alarm Point)?

A front mu acupoint indicates a qishi excess condition of its related internal organ. The gathering qi causes the mu point to become an ahshi point. When the gathering qi is fighting for its life, it sends a unique signal to the mu point.

A period of acute illness results in a qishi excess condition. After the crisis, a period of recuperation with a qixu deficiency follows. The qishi excess required to repeal an attack or repair an organ often results from a preexisting qixu deficiency condition.

Energy deficiency and excess in organs find their expression at back shu and front mu points. Just as back shu (also called associated points) lie posterior to the zangfu organ with which they are related, the mu points (also called alarm points) lie anterior to the zangfu organs with which they are associated. Perform the pressure pain test on the mu and shu points and diagnose the degree of deficiency and excess to predict an impending health crisis.

The designation mu for this group of acupoints indicates a call for assistance. The word mu means “to enlist (soldiers), recruit, muster; to raise (funds), to collect; to summon; to levy.” It conveys the idea of calling: a summons, a call to arms, a call for cash, or a call for assistance. The component images for the character mu are strength and sunset-the image of disappearing durability.

Front mu points inform on the degree of distress in an internal organ and muster a direct energetic pathway to the skin. The pressure pain place is an area of silent tenderness large enough to include nearby acupoints, with the mu point near the center. Most zangfu treatment plans do not recommend the use of mu points (except to treat some fu bowels), but I find acupressure treatments on the front mu and back shu helpful. For local pain relief, I use skin needles. It has been my experience that testing for an alarm condition at front mu points has averted health-destroying diseases.

An Alarm Condition

So, the literal translation for mu is not alarm; it's a call to arms or a tax for cash. The state is in trouble or one could say the body is in a troubled state. I find that alarming. An organ's xu deficiency shows up first at its back shu point. As the disease worsens, during shi excess, painful congested qi is felt in the front of the body around the mu acupoint for the diseased organ.

What is an alarm condition? Silent tenderness at a front mu point is an indication of shi syndrome. However, unbearable pain indicates something far more serious-the clearest indication of distress in an organ. An alarm condition is the impending loss of health and vitality that may be irreversible. Front mu points can warn of an imminent health crisis.

Ten years ago a woman came to me for treatment of left shoulder pain. She was over- weight but not extremely so. Massaging the shoulder, I did not find ahshi points to indicate a typical shoulder problem. However, her heart alarm point reacted strongly, and she pulled my hand away. I asked if she had injured herself in the upper abdomen area. She said, “No, just my shoulder.” So I told her my diagnosis was that her shoulder pain was a warning sign of heart attack, and I wanted to treat her for a severe heart condition.

Furthermore, I told her it would be a good idea to go to a doctor for a check up. She said she had recently gone to a doctor and had a regular check up. He diagnosed bursitis and prescribed an anti-inflammatory drug. I said, “You might want to go to a heart specialist.” On my advice, she did go to a specialist, and he did say that she had a weak heart but was not worried about it. She had known for a while that something was seriously wrong but could not get a Western medical diagnosis. She knew I was right and stopped drinking coffee and eating hot and spicy foods. I suggested she take Tien Wang Bu Shin for the heart. It took several months, but the hypersensitivity gradually disappeared and her shoulder pain was gone.

As a masseur studying Traditional Chinese Medicine theory, I pressed hundreds of acupoints to evaluate clients many times a day. Copious record-taking produced insights into acupoints, especially ahshi points. In my 25 years of experience, I have found mu points to be very accurate for diagnosing an impending health crisis.

How to Test Front Mu Acupoints

The mu points are arranged in sets of three. On the Ren Mo, there are three above the navel, and three below the navel. Three are to the side of the navel and three are on the chest between the ribs. To test a mu acu- point, first test massage around the abdomen to evaluate the background sensitivity of the patient. If the client says there is no bad pain, go ahead and press the front mu points in groups of three.

Press and hold as for an ahshi point while asking for feedback from the patient. Does it hurt? Does it get better or worse? If it gets worse, ask the patient to rate the pain. A typical patient response, in the case of an alarm condition, when asked if it hurts is, “No” or “A little,” then, “Yes,” followed by, “Oh, actually it's too sore.” Only by holding a constant pressure can you judge the changes.

During a shi excess phase in a xu deficient condition, front mu points get worse to the extreme, which is the nature of serious life-destroying diseases like heart problems. For example, bad habits and risk behaviors gradually weaken the heart, and the stress causes crisis after crisis until a breakdown occurs. Most chronic conditions are a long-term weakening with acute flare-ups, eventually causing a health crisis. No pain is the best; some pain can help diagnose xu or shi conditions, but finding an active alarm condition will elicit an unmistakable reaction.

An Alarm Reaction

Patients with an alarm condition have signs of an acute flare-up stage in a chronic condition. In my experience, I have found alarm reactions at front mu points for the kidney, bladder, colon, liver, pericardium, heart, stomach, lung and gall bladder. I have never found alarm reactions at the spleen, san jiao, or small intestine front mu points. Heart alarm reactions have been the most common.

An alarm reaction is a signal of unbearable pain that often goes undetected by the patient until the acupoint is properly pressed. The response to pressure is uniquely unmistakable. The patient's reaction is surprise, and they usually know something is wrong. Be careful to distinguish an alarm reaction from other forms of tender- ness. The patient with a tender abdomen will notice that it's tender, and it may get worse yet not become intolerable in less than one minute. Other causes of alarm point tenderness are structural, muscular, postural, or recent injury. The point may feel bruised because it is. An alarm reaction is distinguished from other painful responses by a peculiar bruisey tenderness, the distinct delayed reaction, and an interruption by intolerable pain.

What Do You Say to the Surprised New Patient?

First, ask if they have injured themselves. If the unbearable pain is coming from deep inside, they will probably sense it. When you find an alarm reac- tion at a mu point, it's time to explain to the patient what you have found.

When I detect an alarm condition, I explain that in Traditional Chinese Medicine these front mu points mean an impending health crisis wherein you could lose your health without being able to recover. I advise the patient to get a medical check-up, avoid harmful food and stressful activities, take Chinese herbs, and continue treatments. Western medical tests may or may not confirm the stress detected. Only after the breakdown can Western medicine measure the severity of the damage. Some recovery is possible, but the damage done is permanent.

The Yellow Emperor's Classic says, “Do not fell your trunk or cut off your own roots.” Make it clear to the patient that they may be killing themselves. How can you know if loss of health is imminent? For example, when the heart is seriously stressed, you will not know whether it was a warning or a false alarm until it is too late. After a heart attack, the tissue damage is done. Muscle has died. You may recover but not fully. You can learn to compensate, strengthen the weak organ, or avoid behaviors that stress the organ more. However, you can never have a fully healthy heart again.

If you discover an alarm condition, tell the patient to follow the plan until the tenderness is gone-not just the alarm reaction but almost all tenderness that could be indicating organ stress and disease. Don't take chances.

Conclusion

As a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine, you have the ability to predict and avert a health crisis. Front mu points, more than any other points, can save lives. Use the alarm point test for serious diseases. Location of these points does not need to be exact, because these points are in a two to three inch area anterior to the organ.

When I practiced massage while going to acupuncture school, a woman came to me for shiatsu massage to reduce the stress in her life. One day she reported that her indigestion was getting worse. I knew that first aid classes teach that, besides left arm pain and numbness, indigestion can be a warning of an impending heart attack. So I checked the points. Her heart front mu acupoint became intolerably painful with light pressure, clearly signaling an alarm condition. I said, “You might want to check with a doctor, but Traditional Chinese Medicine teaches that you are at risk of losing your health.” She came back and told me she had had a visit with her doctor, and he said there was nothing wrong with her heart. He was not concerned. Three months later she was hospitalized with a mild heart attack. You know whose advice she is following now.