Key Highlights

Dr. Clayton Shiu trained under the late Dr. Shi Xuemin. Dr. Shi founded Xingnao Kaiqiao (“Awaken the Spirit, Open the Orifices”), a stroke system developed at Tianjin since the 1960s and backed by an extensive research program.

Core Concept

• The brain (nao) is described as “submerged in yin.” When yin is in excess, the Shen is buried and cognition can’t function.
• Needling aims to free the Shen and open the orifices, which Dr. Shiu frames as the bridge between mind and body.
• Shen is assessed mainly through the eyes: awareness, engagement and tracking.

Nanopuncture. This is Dr. Shiu’s adaptation. It adds functional neurology, QEEG brain mapping, photobiomodulation and gut-brain formulas to Xingnao Kaiqiao. He applies it to stroke, concussion, Parkinson’s, ALS and multiple system atrophy, dementia, post-COVID, Lyme disease and brain fog.

Dual-lens assessment. Each sign is read through both TCM patterns and neurology:

Central vs. peripheral targeting. Dr. Shiu argues that peripheral or orthopedic approaches such as dry needling have limited effect in brain injury unless the technique is linked to the brain and cerebral circulation.

Case presentation

Patient: Grey, male. He was 3 at the time of injury and 4 at presentation

History:

• Concussion in December 2024
• Near-drowning on June 17, 2025, with cardiac arrest, anoxic brain injury and a medically induced coma
• No other notable pre-existing conditions

Status at roughly 1 year post-injury, before Nanopuncture, despite scalp acupuncture, e-stim, hyperbaric oxygen, vibration therapy, PT and massage:

• Nonverbal
• Cortical visual impairment: fixed upward gaze, with the left eye deviating up and laterally
• Spasticity in all four limbs; elbows, hips and knees locked at about 90°; limited voluntary movement; muscle atrophy
• Fixed cervical hyperextension with left rotation; the head could not be brought to midline even passively, and attempts were painful
• Jaw held open
• Dysphagia; nasogastric tube in place
• Laboured breathing, linked to neck position
• Heightened startle reflex, anxiety and distress
• Right shoulder subluxation (sustained during the rescue) and left hip subluxation; surgery had been proposed
• TCM impression: mixed closed yin-yang pattern, with clenched fists, tucked thumbs and purplish discoloration

Regions of concern: brainstem and cranial nerves, cervical spine, shoulder girdle, occipital region.

Assessment

• Palpation of the skull, suboccipitals, cervical spine, scapula and abdomen. Dense muscle tone was read as a strong underlying constitution.
• UMN testing: Babinski, Chaddock, Oppenheim, Gordon, Schaeffer and Rossolimo, used to localize dysfunction and choose targets.
• Comparative palpation of DU14 (the apex of the cervical hyperextension) and UB23, both treated as major yang qi areas.

Treatment protocol

Schedule (intensive format for travelling patients):

• 2 days, 2 sessions per day, for 4 sessions in total
• A 3–4 hour gap between sessions, described as enough for the nervous system to reset before re-stimulation
• A second block of 4 sessions roughly 3 months later
• Between blocks, the mother replicated the techniques almost daily after being taught them

Before needling: manual release of the diaphragm, front and back, to address laboured breathing (“opening the pivot”).

Needling techniques:

• Quantitative manipulation: a defined technique, repeated about every 10 minutes during retention.
• Lifting and thrusting (“neural flush”): used to reset whole nerve plexuses.
• UB40 for the lumbosacral plexus, done bilaterally with assistants holding the limb
• Brachial plexus work for the upper limb
• Sparrow pecking at the cervical Huatuo Jiaji points (C1–C7), credited to Dr. Shi as an extension of the classical Huatuo points.
• Needled at a specific ~45° angle, which is taught in the workshops.
• Dr. Shiu considers this pivotal for the neck, eye and cognitive changes.
• He links it to C1–C3 innervation and cranial nerve connections.
• Also mentioned: a “phoenix flapping its wings” technique.

Targeted regions:

• Shoulder subluxation: points around UB12/UB13 (to influence the small intestine channel), plus HT1. Dr. Shiu reports the joint was reduced during treatment.
• Hip flexors: released with a 3-inch needle to get through dense, rigid tissue.
• Other points: LU5 and HT1, which required the elbow to be extended first. SP6 and PC6 were cited as alternatives to scalp points for influencing cerebral circulation.

Parameters:

• 32-gauge, 1.5-inch needles are his standard for adults and children; 3-inch was used for the hip flexor.
• Usual retention is 15–20 minutes. In this case it was often about 5 minutes because of movement and hypersensitivity, with reinsertion if no change was felt on palpation.
• Children generally get shorter sessions.

Concurrent therapies throughout:

• Daily caregiver acupuncture
• PT and massage
• Hyperbaric oxygen
• Vibration plate (to support bone density)
• Red light therapy (gamma frequencies) and PEMF
• Moxa and myofascial work
• Craniosacral therapy for the hip
• Positional and jaw strategies, plus cross-body exercises

Reported outcomes

Outcomes are based on caregiver video and the presenter’s report.

Dr. Shiu describes his role as “a catalyst.” He attributes the outcome largely to intensive daily caregiver treatment and the multidisciplinary team.

Practitioner testimonial (Philip Chun, R.Ac) – I’m a TCM practitioner and acupuncturist in the Toronto area. About four years ago, my first stroke patients made me fall in love with this population and showed me how powerful acupuncture can be for people with severe deficits. I went looking for a course to up my stroke acupuncture game and took Dr. Shiu’s Foundations course in Florida. It gave me the theory and background on stroke and the Xingnao Kaiqiao system. More importantly, it taught me how to needle those points to get results. That practical how-to meant I could use what I learned on my own stroke patients the very next Monday. The training in hand awareness, or tingli, was just as valuable. Without a background in Tai Chi or Qigong, learning to needle free-hand and feel the arrival of qi changed how I treat every patient, not only stroke patients. I’ve now taken five or six of Dr. Shiu’s courses over three years, and each one builds on the last. It’s a clinically based system that’s relevant, effective and integrates well with other approaches. I’ve had wonderful successes with my own patients, and I’m excited to have Dr. Shiu teaching in Toronto for the first time.