Hey there, Acupuncture student! It's Dr. Richard Lai here, your trusty guide on our journey to mastering the intricate world of acupuncture. Today, I want to dive deep into a point that's often a topic of fascination and frequent discussion—Gallbladder 20, also known as GB20 or Wind Pool. Understanding GB20 is not only essential for your NCCAOM exam but also incredibly beneficial for your clinical practice.
What Can GB20 Do?
So what exactly can GB20 do? This point is a powerhouse of actions that include eliminating wind, benefiting the head and eyes, clearing the sense organs, and activating the channel to alleviate pain. Let's break down each of these functions and understand the "why" behind them.
Eliminating Wind: External and Internal
GB20 is known for its ability to eliminate wind, both external and internal. But what does that mean?
External Wind: External wind invades the body, often affecting the neck and upper back. It manifests abruptly; for example, a patient might wake up with a stiff neck or develop a headache suddenly. External wind impairs the Wei Qi and Lung Qi, leading to symptoms like fever, sore throat, sneezing, and a runny or stuffy nose. Think of it like catching a cold; the symptoms shift and change rapidly, which is a hallmark of wind invasion.
Internal Wind: Internal wind, on the other hand, stems from liver disharmony. Conditions like Liver Yang rising, Liver Fire, or Liver Yin deficiency can generate internal wind. This wind manifests as vertigo, dizziness, numbness, tremors, or hemiplegia. Internal wind tends to have a more significant impact on the nervous system, causing symptoms that can be quite distressing for patients.
GB20 is uniquely positioned to address both types of wind. Its strategic location at the base of the skull allows it to disperse wind effectively, whether it's coming from an external or internal source.
Benefiting the Head and Eyes
GB20 is excellent for benefiting the head and eyes, but why? The point is situated at the base of the skull, making it perfectly positioned to influence conditions affecting this area.
- Head: GB20 can alleviate headaches and other head-related issues, particularly those caused by internal wind linked to liver disharmony. Symptoms like headaches, dizziness, vertigo, and hypertension often result from the liver energy rising to the head. GB20 helps to descend this rebellious liver energy, bringing relief.
- Eyes: If you're dealing with red, painful eyes, blurred vision, or other eye problems, GB20 can be exceedingly helpful, especially when these issues stem from liver disharmony. The point harmonizes the liver and gallbladder, helping to clear excess heat and wind affecting the eyes.
Clearing the Sense Organs
GB20's influence doesn't stop at the head and eyes. It extends to the ears and nose as well, clearing the sense organs and providing comprehensive relief.
- Ears: Conditions like tinnitus can be effectively managed with GB20. Whether the tinnitus stems from liver disharmony (Liver Yang rising) or kidney deficiency, GB20's role in harmonizing the liver can help mitigate these symptoms.
- Nose: GB20 also benefits the nose, addressing issues like congestion and runny noses. These symptoms might come from external conditions or internal wind, and GB20's capacity to clear wind makes it an excellent point for alleviating nasal issues.
Activating the Channel and Alleviating Pain
Last but not least, GB20 is instrumental in activating the channel and alleviating pain. If you're experiencing neck pain, stiffness, shoulder discomfort, or even headaches, GB20 can provide relief.
- Neck and Shoulder: GB20 is located perfectly to address pain and stiffness in the neck and shoulders. Its ability to activate the channel helps to relieve tension and facilitate the smooth flow of Qi.
- Headaches: Whether headaches are caused by external wind entering the body or internal wind from liver disharmony, GB20 can provide significant relief. Its dual action on both external and internal wind makes it a versatile point for various headache types.
## Active Learning Strategies for Acupuncture Students
Now, understanding GB20 is one thing, but retaining this information for your NCCAOM exam is another. Let me share some effective learning strategies that have helped me and countless students excel in their studies.
Read and Review (R&R)
One of the most efficient learning strategies is simply to read and review, or R&R. It sounds straightforward, but it’s incredibly effective.
- Physical Textbooks: While eBooks are convenient, especially if you're commuting, I highly recommend using physical textbooks. The tactile experience of handling a book, turning pages, and highlighting important sections enhances focus and comprehension.
- Active Reading: As you read, engage multiple senses. Use your fingers to follow the text as you read aloud. This tactile-visual-auditory engagement boosts focus and helps you retain information better.
Teach What You Learn
Teaching is one of the best ways to consolidate your knowledge. After studying a particular topic, try explaining it to someone else. If you're alone, imagine teaching a friend. This active learning technique not only helps reinforce your understanding but also highlights areas where you might need more review.
Use Storytelling
Creating vivid stories around the concepts you're learning can significantly enhance memory retention. The more bizarre and imaginative the story, the better. For example, you can imagine yourself explaining GB20 to a friend named Rafi while driving to Dr. Doolittle's mansion, navigating through a windy pool and a secret gate coded UB12. Such stories make the information stick in your mind, making it easier to recall during exams.
Integrating Problem-Based Learning
Lastly, I encourage you to explore problem-based learning (PBL) or active learning methods. These approaches are becoming increasingly popular in medical and acupuncture schools because they promote deep understanding and application of knowledge.
Apply in Clinical Scenarios
Whenever you learn about a point like GB20, think about how you would use it in a clinical setting. What symptoms would a patient present with? How would you explain the benefits of GB20 to them? This practical approach helps bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and real-world application.
Group Study and Discussions
Engage in group study sessions where you can discuss and debate various points and their functions. Collaborative learning helps you gain multiple perspectives and reinforces your understanding through peer interaction.
SO IN SUMMARY
Understanding GB20 – Wind Pool is crucial for any acupuncture student preparing for the NCCAOM exam. Its actions, including eliminating wind, benefiting the head and eyes, clearing the sense organs, and alleviating pain, make it an indispensable point in both academic and clinical settings.
Remember to use active learning strategies like R&R, teaching what you learn, and storytelling to reinforce your knowledge. Integrate problem-based learning and practical applications into your study routine to make the information more accessible and relevant.
That's all for today's deep dive into GB20. If you found this blog post helpful, please share it with your fellow acupuncture students or on your social media. Together, we can make studying acupuncture more manageable and enjoyable.
Until next time, God bless, happy studying and may your journey to mastering acupuncture be as smooth as the flow of Qi!
Dr. Richard Lai, DPT, LAc
TRANSCRIPT
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:00:01]:
Hey YouTube. Doctor Richard Lai here with Study Acupuncture With Me. Welcome back. I hope you're having a great Wednesday. Today, we're gonna talk about gallbladder 20, its point functions, and we're gonna review why can gallbladder 20 do what it does. So today we answer the question, what can gallbladder 20 do? So first let's talk about what Gallbladder 20 can do. And then let's talk about the why. So what can Gallbladder 20, or wind pool do? You might remember I talked about gallbladder 20 in a previous video, and I paired them with Gallbladder 20, UB 12, and DO 16, or more specifically, UB 12, Gallbladder 20, and DO 16.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:00:48]:
And I'm having a flashback right now back to class when I would sit in class and I would try to write down all the points that the teacher was saying in rapid succession because they were spewing out a prescription. And, you know, tell me if you've had this experience too, but you're trying to write down all of them and getting some of them, not understanding why you're writing these down and you're just hoping that you'll have time later to review them. So that was my experience, but what I found to overcome that is I had to review in-depth by going into the textbook and reviewing everything in segments and sequence. So before we get into the actions of gallbladder 20, let's actually just talk about memorization and learning for a little bit. So one of the most efficient learning strategies is to read and review, r and r. Sounds really simple, but we have everything in front of us. We have our textbooks and we've spent 1,000, 100, 1,000 of dollars on all these textbooks. But there needs to be a habit to get into them and read them.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:01:54]:
And the key when you read is to combine your senses try and comprehend and retain as much as possible. This is why I like to have physical textbooks. I don't really like to use ebooks. Ebooks are great if you commute and you can carry, you know, more books in your tablet or your phone because it's just electronic. But if you really want to focus on a topic or focus on a chapter and you really want to learn it and comprehend it, print that chapter out. Print those pages out. Go make photocopies. That way you can feel the pages with your fingers, with your hands.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:02:28]:
And when you read the pages, read with your fingers, meaning slide your fingers along the words, along the lines, because this is gonna increase your focus and increase your comprehension. You won't be distracted as easily because this combines your sense of touch with your sense of sight, and that increases your focus and your comprehension. If you wanna increase your focus even more, take out a pencil or a highlighter and draw or underline things that you really wanna remember and focus. So the next thing is as you read, you have to review what you're reading. So you can review in segments. If you stop after a paragraph or you stop after a topic or a page, review and just try to recall what you just read to yourself. And one way to do it is to imagine that you're reading it or teaching it to someone else. Teach a person what you just read.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:03:25]:
If you're by yourself, just imagine that you're teaching your friend what you just read in a very simple way. If you're with your friend, say, hey, can I explain this to you? Let me know if this makes sense. That way you can comprehend and actively learn what you just read. If you're on a train or you're on a bus or something like that, just imagine that you're doing it. Maybe even mouth the words as you're doing it. Right? It also combines action with your learning. Maybe don't do it out loud when you're on the bus or you're on the train because then people are gonna think you're absolutely crazy because you're talking to some imaginary person. But if you do do that, that's fine.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:04:05]:
That's the thing that you want to do. When you're teaching that imaginary person, try to use a story to explain the topic. And the weirder it is, the better. Because that's going to help you to remember it. Right, for example, if I'm on a bus, I am memorizing my notes about wind. And there's 3 points that I wanna memorize. So I imagine that I'm sitting next to my friend, Rafi, and I'm gonna teach him these points. I'm gonna say what's up Rafi? Let me teach you about these 3 wind points.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:04:36]:
There's wind gate, wind pool, and then there's wind mansion. And it's really easy to remember. Wind gate is u b 12, windpool is gb20, and wind mansion is dew 16. So here's how you remember it. Alright, Ravi? You're driving. You're going to doctor Doolittle's house. That's du as in do channel, Doolittle. That's a du instead of a d o.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:05:01]:
So doctor Doolittle lives in a mansion with all these animals, And to get to the mansion, you gotta go through a gate, because he doesn't just let anybody into his mansion. You get to the gate and you gotta use this secret code on the gate, and that code is u b 12. It's not really a secret code because it's literally spray painted onto the fence, onto the gate. It says u b 12 in gold. So you hit ub12, the gate opens, and then you drive up to the mansion. And you have to drive along this really big pool. A really windy pool. And also the road is very windy.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:05:42]:
So it's a windy pool and a windy road. It's about 20 feet long, and that pool is about 20 feet deep. So then, that's how you remember Golov out of 20. And then finally, you get up to the mansion, and here comes Doctor. Dolittle. Comes out. He has 16 little animals with him. He's telling you about his 16 acre mansion.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:06:04]:
Anyway, so you can see the, you know, the imagery there. Right? And this is just one way that you can learn and you can comprehend what you're reading. Because the point is to be active, active in your learning. When you do active learning, you're gonna get better outcomes on your tests. And when you're in your natural environment, when you have to explain this to a patient, when you need to treat someone, you're gonna perform better as well because it's something that comes more natural to you because you can explain it in a fun, lively story. If you have time today, Google problem based learning or active learning or cooperative learning. There's a lot of schools that have been adopting this style of teaching. And when I teach physical therapy, the curriculum is actually set in this method.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:06:50]:
It's not as widely adopted in acupuncture schools yet, but that doesn't mean that you yourself can't try to adopt this method into your own study. So anyway, let's get back to the actions of gallbladder 20. So what can gallbladder 20, wind pool, do? It can eliminate wind. It can benefit the head and the eyes. It can clear the sense organs. And it can activate the channel and it can alleviate pain. So let's start with wind. So we know that wind can invade the body, right? Especially in the upper back, in the nape of the neck, that whole neck area.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:07:31]:
And you know it might be wind if your patient is complaining that their symptoms have come on suddenly, or if their symptoms change quickly. So if the location of their pain changes from place to place, or if their symptoms change from one day to the next. Right? For example, when you catch a cold. One day, you're fine. You wake up the next morning, and your throat is sore. And then later that day, you have a runny nose. And the next day, you have a stuffy nose. Right? That's this like rapid clinical change.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:08:02]:
And that's a characteristic of wind. And all of this is primarily talking about external wind. External wind can invade the space between the skin and the muscles, and it impairs the wei qi and the lung qi. Then your patient's going to have those symptoms, the fever, the sore throat, the emergent of cold, sneezing, runny nose, that occipital headache or stiffness, and that floating pulse. It's an exterior condition. The wind can also invade the muscles and channels. Your patient then is gonna complain of stiffness. It's they're gonna complain that it suddenly came on as well.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:08:42]:
Right? It's a sudden onset. They could have a sudden onset of neck stiffness, maybe even achiness. All of this is just very sudden. And then wind can also invade the joints. Your patient's gonna complain of joint pain that moves from joint to joint. This is wind obstruction pain, right? It's called roving pain. And then there's internal wind. Right? So we talked about external wind.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:09:08]:
There's also internal wind. Internal wind, it pretty much presents the same way, but where it comes from is completely different. External wind is exterior. Internal wind comes from liver issues or, liver disharmony, I should say. Right? And I think for the sake of time, I'm just going to save that whole liver disharmony thing for another video. I'm trying to decrease the minutes of time on these videos. So in a nutshell, internal wind comes from liver disharmony, like liver young rising, liver fire, liver yin deficiency. Right? Like Mulan.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:09:47]:
Right? You know that song, like all the strength of a raging fire, when there's fire and it's raging, there's going to be wind. Liver disharmony is that internal wind. So internal wind, you got symptoms like vertigo, dizziness, numbness, shakes, tremors, hemiplegia. That's the, those are the symptoms of internal wind. So gallbladder 20 can treat both internal wind and external wind. Whereas, Lung 7 is more for something like exterior wind. So, gallbladder 20 eliminates wind. It can expel the exterior wind, and it can extinguish interior wind.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:10:31]:
So number 2 action is it benefits the head and the eyes. The number 1 action of number 2 is that it benefits the head. So gallbladder 20, it benefits the head. Where is gallbladder 20? It's literally located at the base of the skull. It's literally between the neck and the skull area, right at the base of the skull. But it treats internal wind, gallbladder 20. Where does internal wind come from? It comes from liver disharmony, liver young rising, liver fire, etcetera. Right? And the symptoms that come from that are headache, red eyes, dizziness, vertigo, deviation of mouth and eyes, hemiplegia, hypertension.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:11:11]:
It's because there's this ascending of liver energy that's coming up to the head. That's why your patient can have high blood pressure or hypertension. So gallbladder 20 has an action that can descend that energy. So it extinguishes that interior wind. It's the wind pool point, gallbladder 20. So that's why it can affect wind. Also, gallbladder and liver have a very special relationship together. Liver makes sure that there's smooth flow of chi in the entire body.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:11:43]:
So liver can help gallbladder act the way it's supposed to. It also helps all the organs do what they're supposed to do. So what does gallbladder do? Gallbladder, it stores and it also excretes. It's a very interesting organ. Right? So it's a yang organ that it can also store. So one thing to note is that gallbladder right, gallbladder chi, is part of liver chi. Not in the way that it's a power source or anything like that. It's not like gallbladder is the reason why liver chi does what it does.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:12:15]:
It just partially assists liver in doing what it does, which is to ensure the smooth flow of chi in all the body, also in all the organs. So the natural direction of all organ chi is pretty much dependent on liver. So that being said, who helps the one that helps everyone else? Right? Liver helps everyone else do what they're supposed to do. And if anyone is watching this video that resonates with that, right? Are you the person who helps everyone else? And then when you need help, no one is anywhere to be found. Well, liver helps everyone else. It helps everyone else do what they're supposed to do. And gallbladder qi actually helps liver qi do what it's supposed to do. So what direction does liver energy go? Liver qi ascends.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:13:10]:
Right? So gallbladder chi actually helps liver chi ascend and do what it's supposed to do. So I hope all y'all out there that are helping everyone else, I hope that you find your gallbladder chi in life that helps you do what you're supposed to do. So this is why gallbladder 20 can extinguish interior wind. Because gallbladder affects that liver chi in its natural direction, which is to go up. With internal wind, right, it's caused by liver yang rising or liver fire or liver chi rising, basically just too much liver energy that's going up to the head. You can use gallbladder 20 to extinguish that interior wind. So now eyes. It benefits the eyes and it clears the sense organs.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:13:55]:
So first of all, this is the point that when you needle it, you can actually direct the tip of the needle towards the eyes or you can direct the tip of the needle towards the nose. So it can affect the eyes, it can affect the sense organs. So I listed these 3 sense organs, ears, eyes, and nose. And what I want you to pay attention to is the pathology. Right? Where are these symptoms coming from? Because ears, for example, tinnitus, you can have tinnitus from kidney yin deficiency. But keep in mind, these two patterns, kidney yin deficiency and liver yin deficiency, they're not too far away from each other. Liver yin deficiency can actually lead to kidney yin deficiency. So tinnitus is actually an overlap symptom.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:14:43]:
Tinnitus, that ringing in the ears, it can come from liver disharmony, like liver yang rising, where there's too much energy coming up to the head causing that ringing in your ears, or it can come from kidney yin deficiency. Because the kidney yin, right, like a substance, is not filling the marrow or the brain. So the tinnitus in both of these patterns would sound a little different. The pitches would be a little different. Kidney related tinnitus would be a little slower and it would be more gradual and it would sound more dull. But, Libri Young, rising, that pitch would be higher, and then that onset would be faster. It happens when you get stressed. Suddenly, everything rises up, and then there's a ringing in your ears.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:15:28]:
Anyway and then there's the eyes, Flurred vision, cataracts, optic nerve issues, red painful eyes. This is all from liver disharmony. So gallbladder 20 can clear the sense organs. It can benefit the eyes, especially if it's related to some sort of liver disharmony. Gallbladder, like we talked about before, has a really good relationship with the liver. So it can treat those red painful eyes, those blurry vision, especially if it's coming from a liver root. You can use gallbladder 20. And then there's the nose.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:16:01]:
And I wrote here exterior or interior origin. Because runny nose, congestion, that can come from an exterior origin or it can come from an interior origin. And then nose issues, like nose bleeding. Right? Congestion can come from an interior condition like interior wind. And then lastly, we have number 4, it activates a channel and alleviates pain. So gallbladder 20, it can treat the neck, it can treat that whole upper back, upper shoulder area, especially if there's pain, if there's stiffness, if there's swelling. It can even treat headaches. Headaches can come from exterior wind, it can also come from interior wind.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:16:45]:
Gobbler 20 can also treat the eyes, the nose, the ears, which we talked about before, the sense organs. It can treat dizziness and vertigo. All of this is because of the relationship between the gallbladder and the liver. And then also the way that we're needling as well. You're needling it towards the eyes or towards the nose. Especially if you're trying to benefit that specific sense organ. Alright and that wraps up today's video. I'm trying to keep these videos a little shorter.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:17:16]:
I feel like it helps people retain more. Let me know if you like the shorter format or if you want something longer. Alright. So now what are you supposed to do? You are supposed to go and teach Gallbladder 20 to someone. Right? Active learning. And if there's no one around right now, just pretend like someone is. Talk to yourself and try to recall everything that you learned. Alright.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:17:38]:
So that does it for today's video. Again, I'm doctor Richard Lai. I hope you found this video helpful. If you did, please give this video a like and click that subscribe button so you don't miss any of the videos. I post a video every single Wednesday. If you think of someone else who you know would love this video, share the video with them or even just share it on your social media. That would really help the channel. Until next time.
Dr. Richard Lai DPT LAc [00:18:01]:
God bless and happy studying.
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