Danzhong (CV17): The Breastbone Point for a Chest That Feels Tight and Bound

Where Danzhong Sits

This point sits on the front of the chest, on the midline of the breastbone, about two finger-widths above the place where the flat bone ends.

The line it belongs to runs straight up the middle of the front of the body. It begins low in the pelvis, rises past the navel and over the breastbone, and ends in the dip under the lower lip. Vietnamese and Chinese texts call it the Conception Vessel. This is its seventeenth stop, in the centre of the chest.

The breastbone is the flat bone in the middle of the chest that the ribs join at the front. You can feel its top as a notch at the base of the throat, and its lower end as the place where the flat bone stops and the ribs arch away to each side, leaving a small soft tip below. The World Health Organization standard of 2008 places this point on the midline, level with the fourth gap between the ribs. On most adults that is about two finger-widths, the index and middle held together, above the lower end of the flat bone. In men it is usually level with the nipples. The Vietnamese handbook by Ngo Trung Trieu gives the same rule: the nipple line for men, and for women the level of the upper edge of the fifth rib where it joins the breastbone, because the nipple line varies.

There is very little between the skin and the bone here: a thin layer of tissue and the bone's covering. The large chest muscles (the pectoralis major) fan out from the edges of the breastbone to the arms, but the midline itself is bare of muscle. The skin over the point is served by small front branches of the nerves that run between the ribs at the fourth level. Because the bone is so close to the surface, even light pressure is felt clearly.

Why This Spot

On the anatomical side, the centre of the chest is where the large chest muscles meet the breastbone, and where the ribs join it through flexible strips of cartilage. When people are tense, they often hold the chest tight, round the shoulders forward and let the chest muscles shorten. The tissue over the breastbone then becomes tender to touch. Many people in their sixties and seventies, who have spent years leaning forward over work, find the centre of the chest sore when they press it for the first time.

In this tradition the point sits at the very centre of the chest, and the old writers gave it a large role. They describe it as a gathering place for qi, the vital energy that the tradition says moves through the body, and as a place where feelings settle in the chest. A chest that feels tight, bound or heavy with worry is the classic reason to press it. The name means exactly where it is: the centre of the chest. The Vietnamese name, Đản Trung, says the same.

What the Old Texts Say About Danzhong

The Spiritual Pivot, the Lingshu, a Han-dynasty text, describes four seas in the body in its chapter on the seas. One of them is the sea of qi, and it is placed in the centre of the chest. The Classic of Difficulties, the Nanjing, in its forty-fifth difficulty, names the eight places where kinds of tissue gather. For qi, it names the spot between the two breasts, which later teachers identified with this point. So the point carries two old titles: the sea of qi and the gathering point of qi.

The Plain Questions, the Suwen, in its eighth chapter, describes the organs of the body as officials at a court. It gives the centre of the chest the role of the envoy, and says that joy and ease come from it. That line explains why this point has long been linked with feelings and with a chest that is tight with tension or worry, rather than with any one body part.

The Vietnamese handbook of points and channels by Ngo Trung Trieu, published by Hong Duc, lists it for a range of complaints of the chest, and for difficulties nursing mothers have with breastfeeding. All of those belong with a doctor or a midwife. On this site we use the point only for what it is safest and most useful for: a chest that feels tight, tense and bound, and as a quiet point for letting go.

The WHO standard of 2008 placed it on the midline at the level of the fourth gap between the ribs. That rib landmark is the reliable one, for women especially, and it is the one this page uses.

Points That Work With Danzhong

The first partner sits on the inner side of the forearm. Turn your palm up and find the wrist crease. Measure about three finger-widths up the forearm, between the two tendons that stand out when you make a fist and bend the wrist. In this tradition the two are commonly pressed together when the chest feels tight and the mind is unsettled.

The second sits on the wrist crease itself, on the palm side, at the little-finger edge, in the small dip beside the tendon there. It is used with this one when tension in the chest comes with restlessness and a busy mind, especially in the evening.

The third is on the foot. On the top of the foot, slide a finger back from the gap between the big toe and the second toe until it stops where the two bones meet. The point is in the dip right in front of that meeting. It is used with this one when tension sits in the chest and the sides of the ribs, and when frustration runs high.

How to Find and Press Danzhong

Getting Into Position

Sit upright in a chair with your back supported and your feet flat, or lie on your back on a bed with a pillow under your head. Let your shoulders drop and rest your free hand in your lap or on your belly. Lying down is easier if leaning forward makes the chest tighter. Keep your chin level so the chest stays open.

How to Find It

Find the lower end of the breastbone first. Slide your fingertips up the centre of the belly toward the chest until they meet bone. The lower end of the flat bone is where the ribs arch away to each side; you may feel a small soft tip there. From that end, go up about two finger-widths along the midline. That is the area. If you want to check, find the notch at the base of the throat, slide down to the small ridge across the breastbone a few finger-widths below it, and count the rib gaps at the edge of the breastbone from there: the point is level with the fourth gap.

Now probe the area gently with the tip of your thumb, nail cut short, or a rounded-tip pressing tool. Move in tiny steps up and down the midline. Most of it will feel like ordinary bone under skin. One spot will sting: a small, sharp, pinpoint tenderness. That spot is the point. On many people it is surprisingly sore to light touch, so start lightly.

How to Press It

Keep the tip on the stinging spot and rub in small circles, about the size of a fingernail, roughly one each second. Press straight in, toward the back, with light, even pressure. Hold the tool or your thumb steady with your other hand if that helps. Keep the tip on the same spot; do not slide it up and down the breastbone. Keep your shoulders down and your chest open while you press.

How Much Pressure

Use less pressure here than anywhere else on the body. The bone is right under the skin, and a small amount of force is enough. A sharp sting under the tip is right. The test is what happens when you lift off: the sting should fade within moments. If the pain stays after you lift off, if it spreads, or if the area turns swollen, hot or red, stop and leave it for several days. If you are holding your breath or your shoulders creep up, you are pressing too hard. Ease off until the press feels firm but calm.

How Long

Work the point for one to three minutes. It sits on the midline, so there is only one point to press, not two sides. Keep the first sessions to about one minute of light pressure. As the days go on, add a little time, up to three minutes. Once or twice a day is plenty. Pressing longer or harder does not add benefit here; it only bruises the tissue over the bone.

When to Do It

Any time in the day when you notice your chest feeling tight with tension, after a stressful conversation, a long drive, or a day bent over work. Before bed is a good time too, lying on your back, as part of winding down. Do not press in the middle of the night. If you wake with a tight, uneasy chest, pressing then tends to wake you further, and chest discomfort at night that is new or unusual should be checked. Keep the pressing for the day and the evening.

What This Won't Do

It will not tell you why your chest feels tight, and it will not deal with whatever is behind it. A tight feeling in the chest can come from tension and worry, from shortened chest muscles, from the joints where the ribs meet the breastbone, from acid coming up from the stomach, and also from serious problems inside the chest. A point on the breastbone cannot tell those apart, and neither can you, by pressing. Pressing works best alongside the plain things: getting checked by a doctor first, gentle stretches that open the chest, moving through the day, and support for worry or low mood when it builds up.

It will not replace a diagnosis either, and this matters more here than anywhere else. Chest pain or pressure that comes on with effort, spreads to the arm, jaw, neck or back, or comes with sweating, sickness, dizziness or breathlessness needs emergency care straight away, not pressing. Chest pain after a fall needs to be checked for a cracked rib or breastbone. A tight chest with fever or a cough that does not clear belongs with a doctor. Use this point only for tightness that a doctor has already looked at and ruled out as anything serious.

Safety First

Do not press over skin that is broken, burned, infected, badly bruised or rashy. Leave the area alone after recent surgery through the breastbone, after a recent chest injury, or with any lump or swelling. If you have osteoporosis, ask your doctor first and use very light pressure. If you take blood thinners or bruise easily, use lighter pressure and keep sessions short.

Stop at once if the pain stays after you lift off, spreads, or if the area becomes swollen, hot or red. Stop and seek help at once for any chest pain that feels different from a sting under the tip. Nothing here requires you to push through pain. For the full list of cautions, read the full safety guide before you begin.

Questions People Ask

Where is the Danzhong (CV17) pressure point? Danzhong (CV17) sits on the centre line of your breastbone. Find the lower end of the breastbone, where the flat bone stops and the ribs arch away. Go up about two finger-widths along the midline. In men it is usually level with the nipples. In English it is called the Chest Center; in Vietnamese, Đản Trung.

Why is it so tender? The breastbone sits right under the skin here, with only a thin layer of tissue over it, so pressure meets bone quickly. In this tradition, a point here that is very sore to light touch is read as a sign of tension held in the chest. Start with very light pressure.

Can I press Danzhong if I have chest pain? No. Chest pain you cannot explain needs a doctor, not a pressing point. If chest pain comes on with effort, spreads to the arm, jaw or back, or comes with sweating, sickness or breathlessness, call emergency services straight away. This point is for a chest that feels tight with tension, after a doctor has ruled out other causes.

How long should I press Danzhong? One to three minutes, once or twice a day. Start with about a minute of light pressure, then add a little time over the days, up to three. It is a single point on the midline, so there is only one side to work.

How do women find it, since the nipple line is not reliable? Use the breastbone instead. Find its lower end, where the flat bone stops, and go up about two finger-widths along the midline. You can also check it by the ribs. The point is level with the fourth gap between the ribs, counting down from the collarbone, at the edge of the breastbone.

Is it safe with thin bones? Ask your doctor first. The breastbone is close to the surface here, and bones thinned by osteoporosis do not like firm pressure. If you get the go-ahead, use light pressure with the soft tip of a tool and keep sessions short.

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: CV17 · Danzhong · Chest Center · Đản Trung.)