Niuxi Wan (Achyranthes Pill) for Rheumatic Arthralgia from the Yangshi Jiacang Fang
Niuxi Wan comes from the Yangshi Jiacang Fang (Yang's Family Prescriptions). Its composition is: Niuxi (Achyranthes bidentata, soaked in wine for one night and dried), Roucongrong (Cistanche, soaked in wine for one night and dried), Chuanxiong (Ligusticum), Qianghuo (Notopterygium, rootlets removed), Danggui (Angelica, washed and dried), Duzhong (Eucommia, rough bark removed, soaked in ginger juice, sliced and stir-fried), Mahuang (Ephedra, root nodes left), Chishao (Red Paeonia), Muxiang (Aucklandia), Moyao (Myrrh, separately ground), Ruxiang (Frankincense, separately ground), Mugua (Chaenomeles), Fuzi (Aconite, processed, root and umbilicus removed), Bixie (Dioscorea septemloba), Dafupi (Areca pericarp), Wujiapi (Acanthopanax bark), Yiyiren (Coix seed, stir-fried), Xuduan (Dipsacus), in equal parts. If making pills is inconvenient, the formula may be converted to a decoction, using 3-6 g of each herb.
Preparation: grind the above herbs together into a fine powder, refine with honey into pills the size of a Wutongzi (firmiana seed). Take 30 pills each time, on an empty stomach with warm wine, twice daily. Niuxi Wan dispels wind and dampness, invigorates blood and unblocks collaterals, and strengthens tendons and bones. It mainly treats rheumatic arthralgia with limb contracture and pain in the limbs and knees. Today the formula is often used for rheumatic arthritis, gout, and paralysis, and can also treat cancer pain caused by bone metastasis.
In this formula, Qianghuo, Mahuang, and Fuzi disperse cold and expel wind to stop pain; Chuanxiong, Danggui, Chishao, Ruxiang, and Moyao invigorate blood and stop pain; Fuzi, Niuxi, Roucongrong, Duzhong, Wujiapi, and Xuduan tonify the kidney and yang, and strengthen tendons and bones; Mugua, Bixie, Dafupi, and Yiyiren drain dampness and stop pain. Combined, they dispel wind and cold, strengthen tendons and bones, warm yang and drain dampness, and remove arthralgia to stop pain.
Most of the herbs in this formula also have anti-tumor effects, so the formula can be used as adjuvant tumor therapy, especially for bone tumors or bone metastases. When used for tumors, it is best made into pills for long-term use.