Prepared Cao Wu Root Classic Formulas … Natural Herb Library

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Dispels wind-damp and strongly stops pain ... Zhi Cao Wu is used for severe cold-damp painful obstruction with fixed, penetrating, deep pain in the joints, tendons, and bones.
Warms the channels and scatters cold ... traditional indications include cold abdominal pain, cold hernia pain, and deeply lodged painful conditions that improve with heat.
Retains the strong analgesic identity of Cao Wu while making internal use somewhat more clinically workable through processing.

Chuan Wu and Cao Wu severe-cold-pain pairings ... classical strategy for stubborn wind-cold-damp painful obstruction.
Processed aconite pain pills and powders ... later traditions use Zhi Cao Wu when strong cold-pain relief is required but raw root harshness is excessive.
External trauma and arthralgia applications ... processed Cao Wu also appears in plasters, wines, and wash formulas for severe cold pain.

Traditional references describe Cao Wu as acrid, bitter, hot, and toxic, with processing used to reduce but not erase that toxicity.
Classical incompatibility cautions remain with Ban Xia, Gua Lou, Tian Hua Fen, Bai Ji, Bai Lian, and the Bei Mu species.
PREPARATION NOTE: Zhi Cao Wu is still a safety-critical aconite root and should never be mistaken for a routine warming herb.