Shenmai (BL62): The Point Below the Outer Ankle for Headaches and Restless Nights

Where Shenmai Sits

This point sits on the outer side of the foot, in the small hollow directly below the outer ankle bone, about 1 cm under its lowest tip and above the heel bone.

This line is the longest on the traditional map. It begins at the inner corner of the eye, runs over the top of the head and down the back of the neck. From there it divides into tracks either side of the spine, runs the full length of the back, crosses the buttock and comes down the back of the thigh and calf. At the ankle it curves under the outer ankle bone and runs along the outer edge of the foot to the little toe. Vietnamese and Chinese texts call it the Bladder channel. This small hollow is the sixty-second of its sixty-seven stops, the point where the line turns the corner under the ankle.

The old texts place it half a proportional unit below the tip of the outer ankle bone, in the groove under the bone. Those units scale to your own body, and half of one is about half the width of your own thumb. In practice you do not need to measure at all. Trace the outer ankle bone down to its lowest tip and slide straight down off it. The small dip you land in, between the ankle bone and the heel bone, is the area.

Under the skin, two tendons run in a groove beneath the outer ankle bone on their way to the foot. They belong to the muscles on the outer side of the calf that turn the foot outward and catch you when you step on uneven ground. A Vietnamese reference text places the point in the groove of those tendons, directly below the tip of the bone, and suggests bending and straightening the foot to feel them move. Deeper lie the ligaments that hold the outer ankle together, the ones most often stretched in a sprain.

The nerve supply explains what you feel. The skin here is served by branches of the sural nerve, which runs behind the outer ankle and carries feeling to the outer edge of the foot and the little toe. It carries fibres from the first sacral root of the spine. A heavy press slightly too far back can catch it and send a tingle along the outer foot. That feeling means move the tip, not push harder.

Why This Spot

The point is easy to land on. The tip of the outer ankle bone is a clear, hard landmark, and the hollow under it is small and well defined. There is little padding. A small, firm tip reaches the sore spot with modest force. And it can be reached sitting down, with the foot on a stool.

The hollow also collects strain. The tendons and ligaments here work on every uneven step and every change of direction. Anyone who has turned an ankle, even decades ago, often finds this spot tender for years afterward. That tenderness makes it easy to find the sting this method looks for.

In this tradition the point has a role beyond its own channel. It is counted among the eight confluent points, said to open onto deeper vessels that classical writers believed bound the channels together. Here that vessel is the Yang Heel Vessel, which is said to rise from this point up the outer leg and body to the inner corner of the eye. Its partner, the Yin Heel Vessel, opens from the matching hollow below the inner ankle bone. In this tradition the two heel vessels are described as governing the opening and closing of the eyes, one linked to waking and one to rest. When the outer, waking side is pictured as too full, the eyes stay open. That is why this small hollow is worked, together with its inner partner, when the head is busy and the night will not settle.

What the Old Texts Say About Shenmai

The name means the extending vessel. It points to the vessel that opens here and stretches all the way up the body to the eye. Names on the channel map were teaching aids. This one tells students that the point's importance lies less in the small hollow itself than in the long path that starts from it.

A Vietnamese reference text on the channels, by Ngô Trung Triều, lists the point for headache, dizziness and an inflamed, painful ankle joint, among other complaints. Its finding method is practical: feel for the groove of the tendons under the outer ankle bone, and take the point in that groove half a unit below the tip of the bone, flexing and extending the foot to find the tendons. That is the method on this page, made easier for doing it on yourself.

Read through the tradition's map, the list makes sense. The line this point sits on runs up the back of the body and over the head. A headache at the back of the head and neck, and a sore ankle at the bottom of the same line, both fall within its reach. And the vessel that opens here runs to the eye, which is why the point turns up when the complaint is a mind that will not rest. None of that is a promise. It is a record of where practitioners reached, and why.

In 2008 the World Health Organization published a single standard for point locations across the Western Pacific region. Its entry places this point on the outer side of the foot, directly below the prominence of the outer ankle bone, in the depression between the lower border of the ankle bone and the heel bone. It adds a note that the corresponding point on the inner side is the hollow below the inner ankle bone, the partner described below.

Points That Work With Shenmai

The closest partner is the mirror point on the inner side of the same foot. Find the inner ankle bone and slide straight down off its lower edge into the small dip beneath it. In this tradition the two points open the paired heel vessels, one linked to rest and one to waking. Hold both together with thumb and middle finger and rub gently, or work the inner one first.

The second partner is on the hand. Make a loose fist and look at the outer edge, on the little-finger side. Right behind the big knuckle of the little finger, where the crease of the palm ends, is a soft spot against the bone. In this tradition it is the classic hand partner of this ankle point, the two together used for a stiff neck and an aching back of the head.

The third is at the base of the skull. Slide your fingertips up the back of the neck until they meet the bony ridge of the skull. In the hollows either side, between the two thick neck muscles and the bony bump behind each ear, are the points commonly used for headaches at the back of the head. Working the foot and then the neck covers both ends of the same complaint.

How to Find and Press Shenmai

Getting Into Position

Sit on a firm chair. Rest one foot on a low stool, or cross it over the opposite knee if your hips allow, so the outer side of the foot is easy to reach. Let the foot hang loose. A tense foot pulls the tendons tight across the hollow and makes the point harder to find.

How to Find It

Find the outer ankle bone and trace it down with a fingertip to its lowest tip. Slide straight down off the tip into the small, soft dip between the ankle bone and the heel bone. To be sure you are in the groove, bend the foot up and down a little and tip the sole outward. You will feel the tendons move beneath your fingertip. Then let the foot relax.

That gives you the area, not yet the point. Now probe. Take a rounded-tip pressing tool, or the tip of your thumb with the nail cut short, and press small spots around the dip, a little forward, a little back, closer to the bone. Most of it feels like ordinary pressure. One spot will sting: a sharp, pinpoint tenderness. That is the point. Probe fresh each session, because the sore spot can shift a few millimetres from day to day.

How to Press It

Keep the tip on the spot that stings and rub it in small, slow circles, no wider than a grain of rice, without lifting off. Aim slightly upward, toward the underside of the ankle bone, rather than straight into the foot.

If you use your thumb, wrap your fingers over the top of the foot for support and let the thumb tip circle. If you use a tool, hold it like a pen, close to the tip, so it cannot skid off the bone. To pair it with the inner partner, put your middle fingertip in this dip and your thumb tip in the matching dip on the inside, and circle both together.

How Much Pressure

Sharp under the tip is right. That pinpoint sting tells you that you are on the point, and it should fade within moments of lifting off. Pain that stays after you lift off is not right, nor is pain that spreads through the foot, or an ankle that turns swollen, hot or red. Stop if any of those happen. Stop too for any electric, tingling or numb feeling along the outer edge of the foot; shift the tip a little and lighten. If you notice you are holding your breath or clenching your jaw, ease off.

How Long

One to three minutes on each foot. For the first few sessions keep to about a minute a side, because this small hollow is often tender, especially on an ankle that was once sprained. Over the following days, as the sting settles, work up toward two and then three minutes. Do both feet. Once or twice a day is enough.

When to Do It

For headaches that build through the day, a session in the afternoon, before the ache has set in, helps more than one at its peak. For nights that will not settle, use it in a short routine before bed. Pass urine, sit on the edge of the bed, work this point and its inner partner on each foot, then the neck, then lie down. Many people in their fifties, sixties and seventies are not kept awake at the start of the night; they are woken later, by pain, a cramp or the bladder. The routine belongs before you lie down. What this method does not do is press in the middle of the night. If you wake, leave the point alone and let yourself settle.

What This Won't Do

It will not stop headaches from coming, and it will not give you a full night's sleep. Headaches have many causes: neck stiffness, eye strain, too little water, medicines, poor sleep itself. A hollow under the ankle reaches none of those directly. What it offers is a few quiet minutes, a point you can reach without bending your neck, and a routine that many people find settling at the end of the day. Take it as a comfort measure, and a worthwhile one.

It will not replace a doctor either. A sudden, severe headache, the worst you have had, is an emergency. So is a headache with weakness or numbness on one side, a drooping face, trouble speaking, confusion or loss of vision: call for help at once. A headache with fever and a stiff neck needs urgent attention. Dizziness with fainting, falls, or a spinning that will not stop needs a doctor. So do new headaches after fifty, headaches that wake you every night, and getting up to pass urine more than twice a night. Time spent pressing is time not spent getting those looked at.

Safety First

Do not work over skin that is broken, infected, badly bruised or rashy. Leave the ankle alone after a fresh sprain, a recent fracture or surgery, or with any plate or screw under the skin. Never press on a bulging vein. If you have varicose veins or have ever had a clot in the leg, ask your doctor before pressing. If you have diabetes or poor feeling in your feet, check the skin of your feet and ankles first and ask your doctor before you start, because you may not feel when pressure is too much. With blood thinners or easy bruising, use the lightest pressure that still finds the sting.

Stop at once if the pain stays after you lift off, spreads, or the area turns swollen, hot or red, and stop for any electric or numb feeling. For the full list of cautions and situations where self-applied pressure is not appropriate, read the full safety guide before you begin.

Questions People Ask

Where is the Shenmai (BL62) pressure point? Shenmai (BL62), the Extending Vessel (Thân Mạch in Vietnamese), is on the outer side of the foot, directly below the outer ankle bone. Trace the ankle bone down to its lowest tip, then slide straight down off it into the small, soft dip between the ankle bone and the heel bone. Probe there until one spot stings.

Should I press Shenmai and the point below the inner ankle together? Yes, many people do. The two points mirror each other, one directly below the outer ankle bone and one directly below the inner. In this tradition they are a matched pair linked to waking and resting. Hold both at once with thumb and middle finger, or work the inner one first and this one second.

Can Shenmai (BL62) help with headaches? In this tradition it is commonly used for headaches, especially ones felt at the back of the head and neck, and for a light-headed feeling. Many people like having a point they can reach sitting down. But a sudden, severe headache, or one that comes with weakness, confusion or trouble speaking, is an emergency.

Can I press BL62 when a headache wakes me in the night? This method keeps pressing to the daytime and before bed. Probing for a stinging spot in the small hours tends to wake you further. If a headache wakes you, sit up slowly, take what your doctor has advised, and mention night headaches to your doctor, especially if they are new.

What is Shenmai (BL62) used for? Shenmai (BL62), the Extending Vessel, is called Thân Mạch in Vietnamese. In this tradition it is commonly used for headaches felt at the back of the head, a light-headed feeling, a sore outer ankle and nights that will not settle. Work it for one to three minutes on each foot, in the daytime or before bed. A sharp sting under the tip that fades when you lift off is normal. New or worsening headaches need a doctor's view.

Is it safe to press Shenmai after an ankle sprain? Not while the sprain is fresh. Leave the ankle alone while it is swollen, warm or bruised, and for as long as your doctor or physiotherapist advises. Once it has settled, light probing on clear skin is usually fine. Stop if the pain stays after you lift off.

Other Points in This Library

Each of these sits within reach of the same hand. They are often worked in the same sitting.

This page shares general information about a traditional practice. It is not medical advice and does not replace what your doctor has given you. If you are pregnant, managing a health condition, or unsure whether this applies to you, check with your doctor first.

The whole inner edge of the foot, laid out on one page with photographs, is in The Foot Map — the free book. For every point in this library, see the full pressure point index.

(Point shown: BL62 · Shenmai · The Extending Vessel · Thân Mạch.)