Gui Zhi Tang (桂枝汤去桂加茯苓白术汤) is useful for neck, shoulder and back pain caused by external surface evils (evils on the muscle surface) and internal water-drinking.
Gui Zhi Tang with Cinnamon, Poria and Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae has the efficacy of relieving surface evils and dispersing cold (removing the evils of cold from the surface of the muscles), and inducing diuresis and resolving the effects of drinking. It is used in cases where the surface evils have not been resolved and the water and drinking have stopped internally (the water and liquids abnormally stay in the body), which can be seen as the head, neck, shoulders, waist and back pain and discomfort, fever, less or no sweating, stomach and epigastric distension, and pain, and the inability to urinate.
When the body feels wind-cold, the meridians and channels are blocked, so there is soreness and fever in the neck, shoulders and back; water and drink stagnate in the stomach, so there is distension and pain in the stomach and epigastrium, and urination is unfavorable (unruly urination). In this formula, Ginger relieves exterior cold; Paeonia lactiflora and Glycyrrhiza glabra relieve pain (relieving urgent pain symptoms); Poria and Atractylodis Macrocephalae promote water retention and remove water-drinking. It is contraindicated for those with stomach heat, with adverse reactions such as constipation and dry mouth.
Gui Zhi Degui Plus Poria Atractylodes Soup has strict indications for application, and those who need the medicine must take it under the guidance of a professional Chinese medicine practitioner, and individuals should not take the medicine blindly, so as not to cause adverse reactions.