🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Arthralgia refers to a group of diseases primarily characterized by soreness, heaviness, and pain in limbs, joints, and muscles due to invasion by wind, cold, and dampness, leading to impaired qi and blood circulation and blocked meridians. It corresponds to Western medical conditions such as rheumatic arthritis. Clinically, it can be categorized into moving arthralgia (also called wind arthralgia, featuring migratory pain), painful arthralgia (also called cold arthralgia, marked by fixed cold pain), adherent arthralgia (also called damp arthralgia, characterized by heavy, aching pain), and others, for which patent medicines are selected accordingly.
Moving arthralgia: limb and joint swelling, soreness, migrating pain, limited flexion and extension, or aversion to wind and fever. Caused by external invasion of wind, cold, and dampness, with wind predominance. Treatment: Expel wind, unblock meridians, dispel cold and dampness. Use Jiwei Qianghuo Pills, Qu Feng Zhitong Tablets, or Zhui Feng Pills.
Painful arthralgia: limb and joint stiffness and pain, limited movement, pain decreases with warmth, increases with cold. Caused by wind, cold, and dampness obstruction with cold predominance. Treatment: Warm meridians, dispel cold, expel wind and dampness. Use Xiao Huoluo Pills or Wu Hu San.
Adherent arthralgia: limb and joint swelling, heavy, aching pain, fixed location, heavy limbs, restricted movement. Caused by dampness predominance among wind, cold, and dampness. Treatment: Remove dampness, unblock meridians, expel wind and cold. Use Guogong Wine.
Hot arthralgia: redness, swelling, heat, and pain in limbs and joints, accompanied by fever, thirst, and irritability. Caused by prolonged wind, cold, and dampness transforming into heat, with heat invading meridians and joints. Treatment: Clear heat, unblock meridians, expel wind and dampness. Use Shire Bi Chongji, Shire Bi Capsules, Si Miao Pills, or San Miao Pills.
Waste arthralgia: limb and joint pain, limited motion, joint swelling, stiffness, deformation, even muscle atrophy. This condition is also known as "White Tiger Arthralgia." Rheumatoid arthritis in Western medicine mostly falls under this category. Caused by long-term meridian obstruction, leading to deprivation of nourishment in tendons and muscles. Treatment: Tonify kidneys, dispel cold, activate blood and unblock meridians. Use Lei Gong Teng Tablets or Zheng Qing Feng Tong Ning.
With prolonged arthralgia, unresolved pathogenic factors combined with qi and blood deficiency or stagnation lead to joint pain, numbness, and general weakness. Treatment: Tonify qi and blood, relax tendons and unblock meridians. Use Shanyao Wan, Duhuo Jisheng Wan, or Da Huoluo Dan. If qi and blood stagnation exists, combine with Xiao Huoluo Pills.
Additionally, topical applications such as Fuzi Zhuifeng Plaster, Huoxue Zhitong Plaster, Fengshi Plaster, Tianhe Gutong Plaster, Qizheng Tibetan Medicine Patch, or topical oils like Huoluo Oil and Qu Feng Oil can provide good local pain relief. Moderate consumption of herbal wines for dispelling wind and dampness—such as Dinggongteng Fengshi Wine, Three Snake Wine, or Wujiapi Wine—can also be effective.