chuan wu tou 9 ma huang 9 huang qi 9 bai shao 9 zhi gan cao 9
Wu tou tang formula treats foot dropsy pain (hernia), and inability to bend or stretch.
For digit and articulation disease with inability to bend or stretch, and pain, wu tou tang governs.
It warms the yang qi to clear cold, it nourishes yin and blood and tai yin to restore function. It clears cold on the surface while supporting the nutritive needed to relax the muscles. The use of ma huang forces the yang qi outward emphasizing the formulas effect on the surface.
It treats an excess pattern of cold and a nutritive deficiency pattern. Ma huang and fu zi treat the excess cold and bai shao treats the nutritive deficiency.
This formula is based on gui zhi jia fu zi tang. The huang qi and ma huang are replacing the gui zhi and sheng jiang. The idea being that this is more dispersing of yang qi and nutiritive for the surface.
Chuan wu tou or Aconitum carmichaeli is replaced with fu zi.
Fu zi, Aconiti radix lateralis praeparata is pungent dispersing of liver blood and the ministerial fire in the san jiao. It is pungent dispersing of the heart and kidneys. It is pungent dispersing of the tai yang channels. It is pungent dispersing of excess water.
Fu zi warms the yang and eliminates internal cold due to imperial fire deficiency. It can assist ma huang in dispersing the surface without damaging the yang qi while warming shao yin. Warming shao yin warms the whole body and all three burners to restore circulation of the blood.
Ma huang, Ephedrae herba is bitter descending of the lung. It is pungent dispersing of the imperial and ministerial fire. It enters the lung and bladder channel, it opens the surface, and dispels the cold on the surface. Further it dissipates lung qi and pacifies panting through opening the closed lung qi.
Ma huang strongly raises yang to the surface to clear the cold closure but needs support in restoring the yang qi. Fu zi warms the vessels to promote free movement of yang qi.
Huang qi, Astragali radix is sweet and warm tonifying and nourishing. Huang qi connects the tai yin with the tai yang. It raises clear qi to the chest and the 100 vessels.
Huang qi is warm and sweet, and tonifies and raises qi of tai yin, nourishes yin and blood, generates fluids. It is the core taxation herb. It counters the collapse of yang and blood. Huang qi raises the clear qi upwards while nourishing the ying qi nutritive qi needed. It is both yang tonifying and raising and yin nourishing
Huang qi strongly tonifies qi of spleen and lung qi to revive the motion of the extremities as well as replenish qi and blood. It fills up the depleted channels and organs. When qi is abundant, new blood is created and moved.
Bai shao, Paeoniae radix lactiflora is sour, bitter and cool. It is sour collecting of yin fluids and blood. It is bitter descending of heat. It nourishes dryness in yang ming and the jue yin. It descends Earth and Metal and calms Wood wind.
Bai shao nourishes yin and astringes the nutritive, it mildly moves the nutritive blood and opens stagnation. Bai shao is primary pain herb with fu zi second. It replenishes the nutritive ying layer while moistening tendons and connective tissue.
Zhi gan cao, Glycyrrhizae radix prep is sweet tonifying and nourishing of all organs but especially the heart.
Zhi gan cao is sweet and mildly warm tonifying and nourishing of yin fluids. It nourishes yin fluids in the tai yin and shao yin. It calms wind in the jue yin.
It balances the pungent fu zi and ma huang with its sweet moderation and nourishing.
Zhi gan cao replenishes the nutritive ying layer while moistening tendons and connective tissue, and therefore so often combined with bai shao.