Dampness is primarily associated with loose stools, fatigue, nausea, general heaviness in the body, multiple painful sites and joint stiffness with difficulty in locating an exact point of pain. The tongue is greasy and the pulse is slippery and boggy. According to TCM, the way to treat this situation is to remove dampness by supplementing the spleen. When musculoskeletal conditions arise as a result of dampness, the condition responds remarkably well to the liberal use of moxa, which can be used through the use of a moxa stick held close to specific points or by attaching moxa to the end of the needle and allowing it to burn. A practical approach is to have the practitioner mark the points for the patient and have the patient apply warming moxa to the specific points at home through the use of a moxa stick held close to the point.
Exterior wind is a common occurrence responsible for multiple muslculoskeletal pain sites.
Even though exterior wind can produce multiple pain sites, it is most often associated with the neck, upper back and shoulders. Wind generally is much more of an acute pain than dampness, coming on very quickly even in the otherwise healthy individual. These conditions usually occur when the patient has been in direct wind situations, such as having a fan or air conditioning duct blowing on them. It may even occur when a patient is protected from the wind, but wind is exhibiting itself in the environment such as a very windy day. The energy of wind in the environment is the culprit.