Shao Fu Zhu Yu Tang少腹逐瘀汤
Drive Out Blood Stasis in the Lower Abdomen Decoction
Ingredients10 herbs
Indications
Blood stasis congealed by cold in the lower abdomen. The pain stays in one place, worsens with cold and pressure and eases with warmth, and the flow when it comes is dark or purple with clots.
Clinical Manifestations
- Menstrual pain eased by warmth, with clots
- Fixed lower-abdominal masses or cramping
- Irregular bleeding, dark and clotted
- A cold, distended lower abdomen before the period
- Lower-abdominal pain after childbirth
Health Categories
Modern Applications
Common adjustments
- Marked cold with very cold limbs — increase Rou Gui 肉桂 and Gan Jiang 干姜
- Qi deficiency with fatigue — add Huang Qi 黄芪 and Dang Shen 党参
- Severe, fixed pain — add Ru Xiang 乳香 to pair with Mo Yao
- Heavy bleeding rather than blocked flow — char the Pu Huang 蒲黄 so it stanches as well as moves, and reduce the strongest blood-breaking herbs
Contraindications
Contraindicated in pregnancy. Not for stasis with heat signs — bright red blood, thirst and a red tongue — since the whole formula is warm. Use cautiously where bleeding is heavy or the person is markedly deficient, and only with the prescriber's knowledge alongside anticoagulant medication such as warfarin, as several of these herbs strongly invigorate the blood.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.
Pregnancy
Contraindicated in pregnancy. It combines strong blood-breaking herbs with warm, acrid herbs that drive movement through exactly the region a pregnancy occupies.
Related Formulas
References
Source Yi Lin Gai Cuo 《医林改错》 · Qing
「此方治少腹积块疼痛，或有积块不疼痛，或疼痛而无积块，或少腹胀满……皆能治之。」
- Classical source (public domain), cited in the source-quote section.
2. Scheid, Bensky, Ellis & Barolet. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas & Strategies, 2nd ed. — composition & dosage cross-checked.
3. 《方剂学》（全国中医药行业高等教育规划教材）— pattern analysis cross-checked.
Professional reference notice. Entries are scholarly references for licensed TCM practitioners and students — not medical advice, and not a recommendation to self-prescribe. Chinese herbal formulas should be used under the guidance of a qualified practitioner. Content is an original editorial compilation by Cura x Cura, cross-checked against the cited references.