BodyMapping Acupuncture by Cole Magbanua [1]
It’s always refreshing to meet a practitioner who shares our same vision in dedicating ourselves to the preservation and continuation of TCM wisdom. We’re all in this together to make the world a better place and what better way to do so than to share what really works? The best kind of knowledge is shared, passed on, and translated into the healing of patients, thus furthering our TCM profession. This past weekend in May, we met a man who can help change the way you practice, making your job easier and more efficient so that you can best help your patient! Meet Cole.
Cole Magbanua [1] is a seasoned acupuncturist with over 25 years of clinical experience who uses a distal acupuncture technique to treat his patients to see instant results. After years of study and practice, he refined his knowledge into a system that he coined “Bodymapping Acupuncture Technique”. The Bodymapping Acupuncture Technique’s beginnings stem from a class with Dr. Richard Tan back in 1995 on mirroring, imaging, and Dr. Tan’s Systems. After trying out what he learned from class, Cole concluded that Systems 1, 4, and 6 worked the best depending on what body part(s) you are treating. He then created a body chart in which he mapped out and color coded the acupuncture channels. It turns out acupuncture channels are not dots or lines but actually zones!
HOW DO YOU USE THE BODYMAPPING ACUPUNCTURE TECHNIQUE?
First remember…
When treating anything on the limb, use System 1 (Same Name); needle opposite side
When treating anything on the torso, use System 4 (Opposite Clock); needle opposite side
Use System 6 (Same Channel) to make treatment all the more effective; needle same side
Next, look at Cole’s chart to decide where the problem area is. Let’s say the patient had neck and shoulder pain. Have the patient lie down on the treatment table and palpate for tightness, tenderness, or anything that doesn’t feel normal. Look at the patient’s face for clues as they will usually grimace when there is discomfort. Once you figure which muscles or areas are the problem, look at Cole's chart to determine what channel overlaps the problem area. If the problem is on the torso (head and abdomen), pick channels using System 4 (Opposite Clock) and if the problem is on an extremity, pick channels using System 1 (Same Name). It’s THAT EASY!! No need to take time to figure things out because this chart makes it incredibly easy to think QUICK! To summarize, you find the problem channel, then use System 1 or System 4 channels to treat it. Simple!
MISSED THE CLASS? No worries, it was all recorded so this wisdom has been preserved for a lifetime. You can get Cole’s 2-part class, BodyMapping Acupuncture, Part I [2] and BodyMapping Acupuncture, Part II [3], here [4]. If you are an Annual Gold Pass Member [5], find all of Cole’s videos here [6] to begin your complimentary viewing.
In the meantime, below is a compilation of Tina Chen’s and my notes from the class. Enjoy!
- Tongue is ST, not HT. This is discovered by Cole through years of clinical experience. Using PC for tongue issues (tongue pain, lack of taste, difficulty swallowing) works wonders. Also, esophagus and throat area is ST, not Ren.
- LU 1 & 2 are the extension of the extremity so when needling pain in that area, System 1 will work better than System 4.
- If the patient has a specific location of pain, you can pinpoint to a specific location for treatment. For anything that covers a bigger area like the ear, you get better result needling SP 5 + SP 9 instead of SP 2 + SP 3 because SP 5-9 covers a bigger area and 9 also images the ear.
- Best arm point that images the patella: LI 11
- C1-C7= S1-S4
- C7-T1 = L5-S1 = Ren 4
- Pain on = Use (Ex. Pain on Du 20, needle Du 1; and vice versa)
- Trapezius is GB; Levator scapula is TH; Paraspinus is BL; Rhomboids is SI
- Head is the coccyx; neck is the sacrum. Neck is specifically LU 7-LU 9
- Achilles heel is the pisiform and also the occiput. C1 is where the head of the tendon attaches to the calcaneous bone, C7 is where the tendon turns into the gastrocnemius muscle.
- Eyeball and inside the eyes are TH and GB. If the patient has a headache and points from the front to describe the pain, it’s more GB. If pointing from the side it’s more TH.
- Inner ear is TH = Use SP 4 to SP 5 area.
- Nose = ST 37 = LI 15
- HT 7 = GB 20 = LU 9
- HT 4 = T1 = LU 7
- 90% of jaw problems are GB related.
- Vagina = Ren if you are treating pain; KD if you are treating reproductive disorders
- Penis = Liver if you are treating ED; Kidney if you are treating reproductive disorder, UB if you are treating urinary issues.
- Roof of the palate = LI
- Deep in the Sinus = ST
- Back Teeth = SI
- Front Teeth = LI
- Upper Jaw = ST
- Lower Jaw = LI
- Inside the head/Brain = GB
- For back pain, always check to see if it’s the ribs instead of only muscle involvement.
- GB 41 is excellent for dai (Girdle) channel pain
- Tung’s point "Gan Men" can be needled below the bone on the yin side for organ/liver problems and above the bone on the yang side for pain of the ribs. Also it can be used to treat pancreatic pain.
- Finger numbness: Thumb-use SP5, Index-use KD3-7, Middle-use HT4-6, Ring-use SP5.5, Pinky-use LR 5
- Best point for hemorrhoids: Du 20
- Shoulder pain on LI Channel, Needle SP5/LR4 deeply to ST 41
- SCM/scalene pain, use KD 3-7
Du 20 = Du 1
Du 16 = Ren 24
Du 14 (C7) = Ren 22
L2 = BL 40
Let me know if this helps your practice!
Donna Chow, L.Ac.