Bafeng (EX-LE10): The Eight Toe-Web Points for Numb, Tingling and Burning Toes

Where Bafeng Sits

These points sit on the top of the foot, at the edge of each web of skin between the toes. There are four webs on each foot, so four points on each foot and eight in all, which is where the name comes from.

Unlike most points, this group does not belong to one of the main channels. It is one of the extra points, places the tradition has named and used outside the twelve main lines. The World Health Organization numbers it as the tenth extra point of the lower limb. Three of its four webs on each foot overlap with named points on other lines: the web next to the big toe sits on the Liver channel, the next one on the Stomach channel, and the web next to the little toe on the Gallbladder channel. Only the web between the third and fourth toes belongs to this group alone. Working all four together covers the whole front of the foot in one pass.

The World Health Organization's 2008 standard places each point on the top of the foot, in the dip between two toes, right behind the edge of the web, where the paler skin of the web meets the skin of the top of the foot. You can often see that line. The web skin is a shade lighter and finer.

Underneath, each point lies between the joints at the base of two toes. Small muscles that spread and steady the toes lie between the bones, and the tendons that lift the toes run on either side. The skin of the first web is served by the deep fibular nerve; the other webs by branches of the superficial fibular nerve, which spreads over the top of the foot. Both come from the large nerve that wraps around the outer knee, and from the fifth lumbar and first sacral roots. Small arteries and veins run along each web.

Why This Spot

On the anatomical side, the toes are the far end of the longest nerves in the body. When those nerves are irritated or tired, the toes are often the first place you feel it: numbness, prickling, a cold, wooden feeling, or burning in the evening. The webs are thin and well supplied with nerve endings, so they respond clearly to light pressure. Working them gives you a direct, gentle way to bring attention and movement to the very ends of the feet. Shoes that are tight across the toes also squeeze these webs all day, and they are often sore and puffy by evening.

In this tradition the name says what the group is for. Wind, in the old language, describes things that come and go, move about and tingle: numbness that shifts, prickling, itching, and aches that wander. The eight webs are described as the gates where that wind settles in the toes, and where it can be let out. Teachers reach for them when the toes are numb, cold or burning, and when the top of the foot is red and puffy.

What the Old Texts Say About Bafeng

The group is old, though it came into the books under a different name. Later handbooks trace it to Sun Simiao, the Tang-dynasty physician whose Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold gathered much of the practice of his time. There, according to those handbooks, it appears as the Eight Surges, listed for leg qi. That old term describes legs that feel heavy, swollen, weak and numb, with trouble starting in the feet. The name Eight Winds came later, and is the one most handbooks use today.

The World Health Organization's 1991 proposal for standard point names listed it among the extra points, and its 2008 standard on locations fixed where each of the eight lies: on the top of the foot, behind the edge of each web, at the line where the paler web skin begins. That standard is the one used on this page.

In the wider tradition, the group is listed for numbness and pain in the toes, a swollen, red top of the foot, and leg qi, and also for headache and toothache, which follow the lines that run from the toes up to the head. The Vietnamese handbooks that cover the extra points describe the same picture, with the emphasis on numb, cold and painful toes.

That reputation rests on long use rather than on trials. It tells you the group was trusted by many hands for one of the most common complaints of later life: feet that no longer feel quite like your own.

Points That Work With Bafeng

The first partner is on the sole. Curl your toes; the point is in the dip that appears about a third of the way from the base of the toes to the back of the heel. It is commonly paired with these points when the feet feel cold, numb and drained, and the two can be worked in one sitting.

The second is on the top of the foot, behind the first web. From the web between the big toe and the second toe, slide your finger back along the gap between the two bones until it stops in the dip where they meet. It is used with these points when the toes are tight and burning and the head feels tense.

The third is below the knee. From the dip at the outer lower edge of the kneecap, measure four fingers down and move one finger out from the shin's sharp edge. It is used with these points when the legs feel heavy and weak as well as numb at the toes.

How to Find and Press Bafeng

Getting Into Position

Sit on a firm chair and lift one foot onto the opposite knee, so you can see the top of the foot and the toes. If that is hard on the hip, rest the foot on a low stool in front of you and lean forward, or sit on the bed with the knee bent and the foot flat. Wash and dry the feet first if you can, and look between the toes for cracks or sores before you start.

How to Find It

Start with the web between the big toe and the second toe. Press the two toes together with your other hand. A short crease forms between them. The area is at the end of that crease, on the top of the foot, right behind the edge of the web. Then move to the next web, between the second and third toes, and do the same. Carry on to the web between the third and fourth toes, and finish with the web between the fourth toe and the little toe.

At each web, probe with a rounded-tip pressing tool, or the tip of your thumb with the nail cut short. Move slowly in small steps around the end of the web. Most of it will feel like ordinary skin and tendon. One spot will sting: a small, sharp, pinpoint tenderness. That spot is the point for that web. If you feel a small pulse beating under the tip, stay to one side of it.

How to Press It

Keep the tip of the tool or thumb on the stinging spot and rub in small circles, about the size of a fingernail, roughly one each second. Aim the pressure down into the gap between the two toe joints and slightly back toward the ankle, not forward into the web. Hold the toes with your other hand so they stay still. Keep the tip on the same spot; do not let it slide off onto a toe. When one web is done, lift off and move to the next.

How Much Pressure

Sharp under the tool is right. That small sting tells you that you are on the point. The test comes when you lift off: the sting should fade within moments. If the pain stays after you lift the tool, spreads, or a web turns swollen, hot or red, stop and leave it for several days. If you are holding your breath or pulling the foot away, you are pressing too hard. Ease off until you can breathe slowly through the sting. If feeling in your toes is reduced, use less force than seems needed, because you cannot trust the sting to warn you.

How Long

Give each foot one to three minutes in total, shared across the four webs. In the first sessions keep to about fifteen seconds on each web, a minute per foot, because the webs are often tender at the start. As the days go on, build up to about forty-five seconds on each, three minutes per foot. Do both feet, even when only one feels numb. Once or twice a day is plenty. Pressing longer does not add benefit; it mostly adds soreness.

When to Do It

Morning suits toes that feel cold and wooden on waking; press, then walk around the house for a few minutes. Evening suits toes that burn or tingle after a day on your feet; press before bed, with the feet out of the covers if they feel hot. Do not press in the middle of the night. If tingling or burning wakes you, pressing then tends to wake you further. Get up, walk a few steps on a cool floor if that helps, and keep the pressing for the day and the evening.

What This Won't Do

It will not repair damaged nerves, open narrowed arteries, or bring back feeling that has gone. Numb, tingling and burning toes have many causes: damage to the small nerves, pressure on a nerve in the lower back, low vitamin B12, some medicines, alcohol, poor circulation, and conditions that need blood tests to find. A row of points between your toes cannot out-argue any of that. Pressing works best alongside the plain things: shoes with room for the toes, daily walking, warm socks if the feet are cold, and a daily look at your feet for cuts and sores.

It will not replace a diagnosis either. Numbness or tingling that is new, spreading, or climbing up the legs needs a doctor's check, and so does numbness that comes with weakness or a foot that drags. Toes that turn pale, blue or black, feet that are very cold, or calf pain when walking that eases with rest point to the circulation and need to be seen. A sore on the foot that does not close, or a red, hot, swollen foot, needs prompt care. Sudden numbness with weakness on one side of the body, or trouble speaking, is an emergency.

Safety First

Do not press over skin that is broken, burned, infected, badly bruised or rashy, or over a web that is cracked, blistered or itchy with athlete's foot. Leave the area alone with a recent toe fracture, unexplained swelling, or a pin or screw under the skin. If you have reduced feeling in your feet, poor circulation, take blood thinners, bruise easily, or have a bleeding disorder, use light pressure, keep sessions short, check the skin afterward, and talk to your doctor or foot specialist first.

Stop at once if the pain stays after you lift off, spreads, or if an area becomes swollen, hot or red. Nothing here requires you to push through pain. For the full list of cautions and the situations where pressing on yourself is not appropriate, read the full safety guide before you begin.

Questions People Ask

Where are the Bafeng (EX-LE10) pressure points? Bafeng (EX-LE10) are on the top of the feet, at the edge of each web between the toes. Each foot has four webs, so there are four points on each foot and eight in all. Press two neighbouring toes together and the point sits at the end of the crease they make. In English the group is called the Eight Winds; in Vietnamese, Bát Phong.

How long should I press the Bafeng points? One to three minutes per foot in total. Start with about fifteen seconds on each web, which makes a minute per foot, and build up over the days to about forty-five seconds each. Once or twice a day is enough. Work both feet, even if only one bothers you.

Can these points help numb or tingling toes? In this tradition the group is commonly used for toes that feel numb, tingling, cold or burning, and many people find the toes feel warmer and more awake after working the webs. It does not mend damaged nerves. Numbness that is spreading, or that comes with weakness, needs a doctor's check, and blood tests can find several common causes.

Is it safe if I cannot feel my toes well? Use light pressure, keep sessions short, and look at the skin before and after. When feeling is reduced you may not notice a bruise, a blister or a small cut between the toes. If you have been told the nerves in your feet are damaged, or you have poor circulation in your feet, ask your doctor or foot specialist first.

Why are some webs more tender than others? Each web carries its own load. The web next to the big toe takes much of the push-off when you walk, and the web next to the little toe is often squeezed by shoes. It is normal for one or two webs to sting more. Spend a little more time on those, and keep the pressure light where the skin is thin.

Are these the same as other toe-web points? Partly. Three of the four webs on each foot also hold named points that belong to channels, and those have their own pages. This group counts all four webs as one set, which makes it easy to work the whole front of the foot in one short sitting.

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: EX-LE10 · Bafeng · Eight Winds · Bát Phong.)