What are the five meridians on the back?

In traditional Chinese medicine theory, the human body has meridians and blood vessels, and each line extends to every part of the body. There are five meridians on the back. People often use cupping, scraping, massage, pinching the spine and other methods to regulate the back meridians. These health-care conditioning methods can dredge the meridians, promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis, and strengthen the body. So what are the five meridians on the back? How should we dredge the meridians in daily life?

What meridians are there on the back?

The names and positions of meridians on the back: The twelve meridians are symmetrically distributed on both sides of the human body, running along the inner or outer sides of the upper or lower limbs respectively. Each meridian belongs to an internal organ or a bowel movement. Therefore, the name of each of the twelve meridians includes three parts: hand or foot, yin or yang, and internal organ or bowel movement. The hand meridians run through the upper limbs, the foot meridians run through the lower limbs; the yin meridians run through the inner sides of the limbs and belong to the internal organs, while the yang meridians run through the outer sides of the limbs and belong to the internal organs. There are 2 meridians and 5 vessels in the waist and back. The Du meridian is located on the posterior midline. The first lateral line of the bladder meridian is 1.5 inches away from the posterior midline and is the location of the back Shu points of the whole body. The second lateral line of the bladder meridian is 3 inches away from the posterior midline and goes down along the medial line of the scapula.

Benefits of back meridian dredging

Back meridian dredging is a health-care treatment, which is mainly suitable for infection treatment, back disease treatment, etc. Many diseases can be treated by dredging the back meridians. There are many benefits to using this treatment. Most patients undergo cupping therapy, which stimulates the acupuncture points on the back and opens up all the meridians on the back, thus achieving the effect of dredging them. The spine in the middle of the back is the course of the Du meridian, which governs all the yang meridians in the body. It has the function of commanding, regulating, and connecting other yang meridians, and its position is very important. The bladder meridians on both sides of the spine run through the entire body, and the internal organs have corresponding reaction points on their acupoints. Pathological changes in the functions of the internal organs can be reflected in the acupoints on the back.

How to dredge the back meridians in traditional Chinese medicine

The meridians on the back connect to various parts of the body. Regular back massage can open up the qi and blood of the whole body, promote blood and lymphatic circulation and metabolism between tissues, relieve general fatigue and muscle pain, cure diseases, strengthen the body, increase human resistance, etc. Let’s look at the methods of back massage.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that many acupuncture points of the human body are located on the back. Moderately beating the back can dredge the meridians, promote the circulation of qi and blood, eliminate fatigue, calm the nerves, strengthen the endocrine and nervous systems, and improve immunity. Back pounding is simple and easy to do and is not subject to time constraints. There are usually two methods: patting (patting with empty palms) and tapping (tapping with empty fists). Both methods should be light rather than heavy, and strive to achieve coordinated movements, even rhythm, and elastic force. When beating the back, use your hands to lightly tap and pat both sides of the spine from top to bottom or from bottom to top. The strength of the beating should be enough to make the body vibrate without feeling pain. You can beat yourself or have others beat you, and the person being beaten can be sitting or lying down. Generally, the frequency of back beating should be 60 to 100 times per minute. You can do it 1 to 2 times a day, and each time should not exceed 20 minutes.

The importance of meridians in the human body

Meridians are very important to the human body. They can determine life and death, and treat all kinds of diseases. The reason why a person becomes an organic whole is that the meridians crisscross, enter and exit the inside and outside, connect the internal organs internally, and reach the skin and muscles externally. The normal circulation of qi in the meridians plays an important role in the treatment and recovery of diseases. In order to circulate Qi and blood and nourish the internal organs, natural gas needs to be transported to various places through pipelines. Similarly, Qi and blood also need to be transported to various parts of the body through meridians to nourish the entire body inside and out. This is the second function of meridians. Meridian acupoints can also reflect a person's internal problems, which Chinese medicine calls "knowing the interior by the exterior."