A small grass floating in the wind can cure the pain of waist and knee rheumatism

There are four major Chinese medicines in my country. Do you know what they are? The so-called Four Major Huai Medicines mainly refer to the four major Chinese medicinal herbs produced in the ancient Huaiqing Prefecture (whose geographical scope is equivalent to Wenxian, Qinyang, Wuzhi and Mengzhou in the current Jiaozuo area of ​​Henan Province), namely yam, Achyranthes bidentata, Rehmannia root and chrysanthemum.

Achyranthes bidentata, as one of the four major Huai medicines, is most notable for its ability to nourish the liver and kidneys and strengthen the waist and knees. You must have seen the little grass in the picture, but few people knew that it is actually a good medicine for strengthening the waist and knees.

The naming of Niu Xi is very interesting. This traditional Chinese medicine has a special shape, with ridges on its stems, which resemble the knee bones of a cow, so the ancients named it "Niu Xi". In addition, calling it Niu Xi implies that after taking this traditional Chinese medicine, a person's waist and knees can be as strong as a cow's knees, which is inseparable from the ancients' idea of ​​analogy.

The main medicine of Achyranthes bidentata is its dried root. Li Shizhen pointed out in "Compendium of Materia Medica" that "Achyranthes bidentata is a medicine for the foot Jueyin and Shaoyin meridians. It can nourish the liver and kidneys if mixed with wine, and can remove bad blood if used raw." Achyranthes bidentata is mild in nature and tastes bitter and sweet. It mainly enters the liver and kidney meridians. When used raw, it can promote blood circulation and relieve dysmenorrhea, and treat amenorrhea and dysmenorrhea caused by blood stasis; or treat postpartum abdominal pain and inability to swallow. When used cooked, it can nourish the liver and kidneys, strengthen the waist and knees. It can be used for soreness of the waist and knees, weakness of the limbs caused by liver and kidney deficiency. It can also treat soreness of the waist and legs, pain in the joints caused by rheumatism. It can be used for both cold arthralgia and hot arthralgia.

There are two types of Achyranthes bidentata: Sichuan Achyranthes bidentata and Huai Achyranthes bid Sichuan Achyranthes bidentata refers to the Achyranthes bidentata produced in Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan and other places. Both Sichuan Achyranthes bidentata and Huaihai Achyranthes bidentata can promote blood circulation and relieve dysmenorrhea, nourish the liver and kidneys, strengthen the tendons and bones, promote diuresis and relieve stranguria, and guide fire (blood) downward. However, Sichuan Achyranthes bidentata is better at promoting blood circulation and relieving menstruation, while Huai Achyranthes bidentata is better at nourishing the liver and kidneys and strengthening the tendons and bones. In clinical practice, there is a saying that "Huai Bu Chuan Xie".

The decoction pieces of Achyranthes bidentata are soaked in wine, which is commonly used as a health-preserving medicinal wine in life, especially for the back pain and weak legs caused by kidney essence deficiency, the back pain and leg pain caused by rheumatism, or injuries in life. You can drink a small amount of medicinal wine to relieve the symptoms.

It should be noted that Achyranthes bidentata is a blood-moving product with a downward nature, so pregnant women and those with heavy menstruation should not take it. Use with caution if you suffer from sinking of Qi in the middle, spleen deficiency diarrhea, weak lower abdomen, and frequent dreams and spermatorrhea!