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Table 2 Acupuncture points

From: Electro-acupuncture for irritable bowel syndrome patients: study protocol for a single-blinded randomized sham-controlled clinical trial

Acupuncture point

Anatomical location

Function according to TCM

Baihui (GV20)

7 cun directly above the midpoint of the posterior hairline

Easing mental stress

Toulinqi (GB15)

Directly above the pupils when the eyes are looking straight ahead, 0.5 cun within the anterior hairline, at the midpoint of the line connecting Shenting (GV24) and Touwei (ST8)

Tranquilizing the mind

Guanyuan (CV4)

On the anterior midline, 3 cun below the umbilicus

Regulating qi

Zhongwan (CV12)

On the anterior midline, 4 cun above the umbilicus

Regulating the stomach to smooth qi

Tianshu (ST25)

2 cun lateral to the umbilicus

Regulating qi flow for activating stagnancy

Zusanli (ST36)

3 cun below Dubi (ST35), one finger width lateral to the anterior crest of the tibia

Strengthening the spleen and stomach

Sanyinjiao (SP6)

3 cun above the medial malleolus, on the posterior border of the medial aspect of the tibia

Strengthening the spleen and stomach

Taichong (LR3)

In the depression distal to the junction of the 1st and 2nd metatarsal bones

Calming down the liver and stop the pain

Zhangmen (LR13)

On the lower border of the free end of the 11th rib

Spreading the liver qi and stop the pain