Gastrointestinal spasms are caused by sudden, intense contractions of the smooth muscles in the stomach and intestines, leading to pain in the upper abdomen or the entire abdomen, and are a common acute abdominal condition in clinical practice. The disease is characterized by sudden, paroxysmal stomach and abdominal pain, with no abnormal signs during the intervals between attacks. Local cooling, improper diet (or unclean food), overeating, and vigorous exercise after meals are inducing factors. Gastric spasms are commonly seen in diseases such as acute gastritis, gastric ulcers, gastric cancer, and functional gastrointestinal disorders in Western medicine, while intestinal spasms are more common in children and often have a history of recurrent episodes. Gastrointestinal spasms fall under the categories of "stomach pain" and "abdominal pain" in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The disease is often caused by food stagnation, accumulation of cold in the stomach and intestines, leading to the loss of nourishment in the meridians of the stomach and intestines, obstruction of the flow of qi in the stomach and intestines, and the loss of harmony and descent in the viscera of the stomach and intestines, resulting in pain due to blockage.
Diet Accumulation Type: Epigastric and abdominal pain is like a knife twist, resisting pressure, accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Belching with the smell of decay and swallowing sour taste, pale complexion, sweating, and cold limbs; the tongue coating is white and greasy, and the pulse is tight and string-like.
Cold Invasion of the Stomach and Intestines Type: The pain in the stomach is like being pricked by a needle or twisted by a knife, with spasmodic abdominal skin, preference for warmth and pressure, pale complexion, sweating, and cold limbs; the tongue coating is white, and the pulse is tight and slippery.
It is recommended to perform moxibustion once a day, targeting 2 to 3 acupoints each time, with each acupoint being treated for 30 to 40 minutes. Rotate the points treated, with a 10-day period constituting one course of treatment, and then rest for 2 to 3 days before continuing with the next course. (If time permits and there is a need, more acupoints can be treated with moxibustion. The specific duration should be adjusted according to one's own physical needs.)
1. Develop good eating habits, eat regularly, avoid overeating, avoid greasy food, and do not engage in vigorous exercise after a full meal. 2. Gastrointestinal spasms caused by severe obstruction or cancer of the stomach and intestines should be taken very seriously, and the treatment of the underlying disease should be given high priority. 3. Dietary Therapy Recipe: Ginger, Sugar, and Perilla Leaf Drink. 5 grams of fresh ginger (sliced into thin strips), 3 grams of Perilla frutescens leaves, and 6 grams of Chinese yam are placed in a teacup, steeped with boiling water, soaked for 10 minutes, then mixed with brown sugar and taken warm. It has the effect of inducing sweating, resolving the superficies, dispelling cold, and warming the stomach, and can treat cold-induced gastrointestinal spasms.