Discussion Forum - Recent Topics

Essentials of Saam Acupuncture

Philip Suger — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 17:18:51 +0000

Everything is official now! After 3+ years of work and collaboration the book has been published and is available on the purple cloud press’ website as well as Amazon. Thank you to everyone who made this possible and I hope this brings very much needed clarity on the origins of this medical tradition. Featuring the profound philosophical insights of Saam and the 124 practical case studies of Jisan this treatise has something for everyone interested in Saam acupuncture!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1991081405?spcref=HARDCOVER_LISTING

https://purplecloudinstitute.com/product/essentials-of-saam-acupuncture/

environmental reactivity

edarvishacu — Wed, 27 May 2026 22:33:08 +0000

Hello,

I am curious if there is a particular organ system associated with environmental reactivity in Sa'am. In jingfang, sometimes we might associate someone who is very reactive or sensitive to the environment with ban xia or chai hu. This could be if someone is very sensitive to light, sounds etc. Maybe also or instead this could be someone who has a lot of allergies and perhaps their skin or breathing reacts easily to different things. Is there anything analogous to that in Sa'am?

I can see in Toby's book that in San Jiao excess a patient may have no shielding and thus be vulnerable to outside influences, so I can see how that may be relevant, but I am wondering if there are any other organs to consider.

Thank you.

musculoskeletal injury considerations

turiyahill — Fri, 22 May 2026 02:17:17 +0000

I am wondering about how to decide between morphology versus channel . Three days ago while running I pulled up with a strained upper calf/ UB 55 area. Fortunately its probably only micro-tear . I have treated it twice with SI+ and once with LV+ ( as I tend to be SJ excess) . and I'm wondering about approaching it via a UB+ channel treatment. or even Ht+ ? The first SI+ treatment was very effective . And it is definitely healing. I'm trying to envision the healing process....between preventing consolidation of blood stasis with SI+ and providing blood/tendon nourishment with LV+. So I am thinking aloud as I write this and would appreciate your thoughts. I am also applying topicals as well as periods of heat via heat lamp and hot water bottle. I was really enjoying this spring trail running!

charley horse

Maria Yung — Sat, 16 May 2026 16:47:29 +0000

I am wondering about TCM diagnosis for charley horse leg cramps. What saam tx should be considered?

TCM signs / symptoms as seen through SAAM

iank — Thu, 07 May 2026 15:54:04 +0000

Hi all,

I'm a newly registered acupuncturist from Ontario, Canada - have been innately drawn to Saam after becoming aware of it midway through my schooling. I've been reading / re-reading Toby's book and, additionally, listening to every podcast / lecture I can find.

My topic is general, but I'm specifically wondering about TCM signifiers of dampness.

Lets say someone presents with a subjectively heavy sensation in the body, phlegm after meals, bowel movements often loose, slippery pulse. But they have a normal or even slim body type.

I would think to supplement LI in this case. But I also acknowledge my relative lack of experience and familiarity with the Saam system and wanted to run it by some folks here for guidance.

Thank you so kindly in advance!

(and thank you, Toby, for this wonderful digital space)

Pueblo or Colorado Springs practitioner

gmandler — Mon, 04 May 2026 20:19:25 +0000

Anyone in Pueblo, CO or Colorado Springs? A patient brought her visiting friend, who experienced plenty of acupuncture, but had a Saam experience and now wants a Saam practitioner near her.

Anyone near Greenbelt, MD

gmandler — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 16:41:42 +0000

Anyone near Greenbelt, MD....From my patient for her daughter.....

"...lives in Greenbelt MD, works in DC as an admin at George Washington University. For last two months she has been having progressively worsening pain, starting as a neck back pain in early/mid March - it has just been getting worse, not particularly helped by Physical therapy/naproxen, and is now a situation of tingling in arms and legs, affecting both sides, and now she feels weakness. She has been to Emergency 2x this past week, seeing a neurologist today. CT scans normal, Ultrasound showed swollen lymph node in neck but nothing else. She is a pretty high anxiety person, with a fair bit of stress, but I don't want to dismiss her concerns and it sounds like there may be an "organic" component going on. She's never tried "alternative" therapies before such as DO, chiropractic or acupuncture. Blood tests pretty normal (bilirubin high) . She's missed the last week of work.
She is on Wellbutin, citalopram and buspirone as well as Progestin based PCOS med. (She'd like to reduce her number of psych meds!)

Organ detox

jpham — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 19:48:10 +0000

Hi everyone! I have a question regarding liver Saam treatments and detoxification symptoms. I've noticed when I treat my patients that have obvious SJ excess signs (very bright eyes, extremely polite, low grade anxiety, cold feet, liver xue deficient types) - when they receive a liver Saam treatment, they tend to go through a very obvious detox period. Breakouts starting a few days after treatment, feeling sluggish and heavy. This tends to resolve and then they will have much clearer complexion afterwards and they will tend to seem less brittle or anxious to me. What is the cause of this detox? I work out of Chicago so is it because my patients tend to have more toxicity build up vs someone who lives on the west coast or areas with less pollution and greasy restaurants or alcohol heavy lifestyles? It has occurred in so many patients now that I will warn them before I do a liver Saam treatment that this treatment may cause a slight purge and breakout for the first week. Small intestine will also cause a detox but that type of detox is where they will get sick and have nausea and weird bowels for a few days. They always feel better the following week so I don't worry but I wonder what causes this detox reaction. Thanks so much.

Xu Dachun

Toby Daly — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 19:57:44 +0000

"The pursuit of knowledge must proceed from the elementary to the profound. No one who is not yet sure of the basics should seek for the unusual and obscure. This is especially so in the practice of medicine, where a single mistake can harm or even kill, and where one must therefore be vigilant."

Xu Dachun (Erhman 2026)

The Making Of a Diagnostic Mind

Toby Daly — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 21:50:18 +0000

“To me, the concept of the master diagnostician is that you’re never good enough.”

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/2026/03/diagnositic-excellence/686622/