Corydalis Tuber Classic Formulas — Natural Herb Library

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Invigorates Blood, moves Qi, and relieves pain - Yan Hu Suo is one of the signature pain herbs of Chinese medicine because it treats both Qi stagnation and Blood stasis, especially when fixed pain and distension coexist.
Relieves chest, flank, epigastric, and abdominal pain - it is widely used for digestive, menstrual, and constrained Liver-type pain patterns rather than for simple deficiency aches.
Addresses traumatic and gynecologic pain - classical use extends to dysmenorrhea, postpartum abdominal pain, traumatic injury, and painful obstruction when movement of stagnation is required.

Jin Ling Zi San - classic pairing with Chuan Lian Zi for hypochondriac, epigastric, and lower-abdominal pain from constrained Liver Qi with heat or stasis.
Yan Hu Suo Zhi Tong Wan - patent-style pain formula built around corydalis for generalized stagnation pain patterns.
Shao Fu Zhu Yu Tang - gynecologic stasis formula where Yan Hu Suo assists movement and pain relief in the lower abdomen.
Shi Xiao San modifications - used in menstrual and traumatic pain presentations where Blood stasis is acute and painful.

Materia medica tradition consistently treats Yan Hu Suo as a premier analgesic herb that moves both Qi and Blood, making it unusually versatile across chest, abdominal, and gynecologic pain.
Older clinicians often emphasized vinegar-processed Yan Hu Suo for stronger pain relief, a pattern that modern processing research still examines today.
Its warm, acrid, bitter profile explains why it is directed at obstructive pain rather than at pain from simple empty deficiency.