Tuberculate Speranskia Herb Classic Formulas

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Dispels Wind-Damp and relieves Bi syndrome — principal indication; rheumatic joint and muscle pain, especially with cold-damp predominance and stiffness
Warms the channels and disperses Cold — deep cold-obstructed pain in joints, the lumbar region, and knees
Relaxes sinews and resolves contracture — muscle spasm, sinew tightening, and impaired movement from chronic Wind-Cold-Damp Bi
Activates Blood and disperses stasis — traumatic injury, post-injury swelling, and bruising

Tou Gu Cao Tang (透骨草汤) — classical decoction for Wind-Cold-Damp Bi syndrome; Tou Gu Cao combined with Chuan Wu (川乌, processed), Cao Wu (草乌, processed), Ma Qian Zi (马钱子, processed), and Ru Xiang (乳香) — used externally as a hot soak for severe chronic joint pain
Combined with Wei Ling Xian (威灵仙), Du Huo (独活), and Ji Xue Teng (鸡血藤) in oral formulas for rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis with cold-predominant Wind-Damp pattern

Ben Cao Gang Mu Shi Yi (本草纲目拾遗): records Tou Gu Cao (透骨草, 'penetrate-bone herb', named for its ability to relieve deep bone-level pain) as a powerful pungent-warm herb that 'enters the sinews and bones to dispel cold-damp, open the channels, and stop severe pain — superior for Bi syndrome that has become entrenched in the deeper tissues'
SPECIES NOTE: The official Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2020 source for Tou Gu Cao is Speranskia tuberculata (Bunge) Baill. (Euphorbiaceae); the name Tou Gu Cao is also applied to other plants in regional folk medicine including Impatiens balsamina (herb #84 in this database, 凤仙透骨草); the two variants share Wind-Damp Bi indications but Speranskia tuberculata is the pharmacopoeial standard