Shuaigu (GB8): The Point Above the Ear for a One-Sided Headache

Where Shuaigu Sits

This point sits on the side of the head, straight above the highest tip of the ear, about two finger-widths up into the hair, on the flat muscle that covers the temple.

The line this point belongs to runs down the side of the body like a seam. It starts at the outer corner of the eye, then winds back and forth across the side of the head several times before it drops behind the ear to the base of the skull. From there it crosses the top of the shoulder, runs down the side of the ribs and hip, follows the outer side of the leg, and ends at the fourth toe. Vietnamese and Chinese texts call it the Gallbladder channel. This is its eighth stop, and it sits at the highest point the channel reaches over the ear.

The old texts place it above the ear, one and a half body inches into the hairline. A body inch here means the width of your own thumb at its widest. One and a half of those is about the width of your first and middle fingers held together. In practice, fold your ear forward, find its highest tip, and go straight up about two finger-widths. The World Health Organization standard of 2008 uses the same landmark: directly above the tip of the ear, inside the hair.

Underneath lies the temporal muscle, the broad, fan-shaped muscle that runs from the side of the skull down under the cheekbone to the lower jaw. It is the muscle that closes your mouth and grinds your teeth. Put your fingers on the spot and clench your back teeth, and you will feel it bulge under your fingertips. Over it runs a tough sheet of tissue that you feel as a firm, smooth layer under the scalp.

The skin here is served by two small nerves. One comes up in front of the ear from the fifth cranial nerve, the main nerve of feeling for the face and the front of the head. The other climbs up from the neck behind the ear. That mix is part of why a headache in this area can feel linked to both the jaw and the back of the neck.

Why This Spot

On the anatomical side, this is one of the easiest places on the head to reach. You can find it in a chair, in bed, or at a kitchen table, with your elbows resting. The muscle under it works every time you chew, and harder still if you clench your teeth when stressed or grind them in your sleep. A tired, overworked temporal muscle is a common source of the dull, band-like ache at the side of the head that many people in their sixties know well. Pressing here works straight into that muscle.

In this tradition the side of the head belongs to the Gallbladder channel, and headaches that sit at the temple or above the ear are read as trouble along that line. This point is described as a meeting place where the Gallbladder channel crosses paths with the Bladder channel, which runs over the top of the head. That is why the old books use it for one-sided headaches that seem to spread over the crown.

The name tells you how to find it. The Chinese characters mean to lead or to follow, and a valley. You follow the ear upward and your fingertip settles into a small valley on the side of the skull. Its Vietnamese name, Suất Cốc, carries the same two ideas.

What the Old Texts Say About Shuaigu

The Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, the Jiayi Jing, compiled by Huangfu Mi in the third century, set the location that is still used: above the ear, one and a half body inches into the hairline. The landmark has stayed the same because the ear does not move.

The Vietnamese handbook of points and channels by Ngo Trung Trieu, published by Hong Duc, lists it for pain at the side of the head, red and swollen eyes, vomiting, toothache, and puffiness of the skin. Notice the pattern. The head, the eyes, the teeth and the stomach all appear together. That matches what many people describe: a one-sided headache that comes with a sore jaw and a queasy stomach.

The same handbook gives a neat way to find it. Fold the ear forward and press it flat against the head. The point level with its tip, at the hairline, is another point on a neighbouring line. From there, go straight up one and a half body inches. That is the method used in this page.

In the wider tradition this point has a reputation for the heavy, throbbing headache that comes the morning after too much wine, with a head that feels full and a stomach that wants to empty. Teachers have passed that use down for centuries. It is a reputation built on long use rather than proof, but it tells you the kind of headache the old practitioners had in mind: one-sided, pressing, and tied to the stomach.

Points That Work With Shuaigu

The first partner sits at the back of the head. Run your fingers up the back of the neck to the base of the skull. On each side, in the hollow between the two thick neck muscles, there is a soft dip under the skull bone. In this tradition it is commonly paired with this one when a headache climbs from a stiff neck up to the side of the head.

The second sits at the temple. Find the outer end of your eyebrow and the outer corner of your eye. Go back about one finger-width from the point midway between them, and you will feel a soft hollow on the flat of the temple. It is used with this one when the ache wraps around from the temple to above the ear.

The third is on the foot, on the top of the foot toward the outer side, in the groove between the bones that lead to the fourth and little toes, back near where those bones meet. Pressing the head and the foot in the same sitting is an old idea in this tradition: the same channel runs from one to the other, and a one-sided headache is often worked from both ends.

How to Find and Press Shuaigu

Getting Into Position

Sit upright in a chair at a table and rest both elbows on the table, so your arms stay relaxed while you work. Let your jaw hang loose, with your teeth slightly apart.

How to Find It

Fold the top of your ear forward with one hand and feel for its highest tip. With the other hand, place two fingers side by side straight above that tip, the lower finger touching the ear. The spot under the upper edge of the upper finger is the area. You may feel a very slight soft dip. To check, clench your back teeth: the muscle under your fingers should firm up. Relax the jaw again before you press.

Now probe the area with a rounded-tip pressing tool, or the tip of your thumb with the nail cut short. Move slowly in small steps through the hair. Most of it will feel like ordinary scalp. One spot will sting: a small, sharp, pinpoint tenderness. That spot is the point. It can sit a little forward or back of where you started, so take your time. The sting is what tells you that you are on 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 straight into the head, toward the centre. Rest your other hand on the opposite side of your head to steady it. Keep the tip on the same spot; do not let it slide through the hair or drag the scalp around.

How Much Pressure

Sharp under the tool is right. That small sting tells you that you are on the point. The test is what happens when you lift off: the sting should fade within moments. If the pain stays after you lift the tool, if it spreads, or if the scalp turns swollen, hot or red, stop and leave it for several days. If you are holding your breath or clenching your jaw, you are pressing too hard. Ease off until you can breathe slowly through the sting.

How Long

Work each side for one to three minutes. In the first sessions keep to about one minute, because the point is often most tender at the start. As the days go on, add a little time, up to three minutes. Do both sides, even when the headache sits on one side only. Once or twice a day is plenty. Pressing longer does not add benefit; it mostly adds soreness.

When to Do It

At the first sign of a familiar one-sided headache is a good time, before it settles in. Late afternoon suits the ache that builds after a day of reading, screens or clenching. Before bed is a good time too, as part of winding down, especially if you wake with a sore jaw from grinding. Do not press in the middle of the night. If a headache wakes you, pressing then tends to wake you further. Keep the pressing for the day and the evening, and mention headaches that wake you to your doctor.

What This Won't Do

It will not remove the reason you have headaches. Common reasons include tight neck and jaw muscles, grinding at night, too little sleep, too little water, skipped meals, eyes that need new glasses, and the overuse of painkillers, which can itself keep a headache going. Some medicines cause headaches too. A point above your ear will not out-argue any of that. Pressing works best alongside the plain things: regular meals and water, a check of your glasses, a mouth guard if a dentist finds grinding, and a talk with your doctor about how often you take painkillers.

It will not replace a diagnosis either, and with headaches this matters. Call emergency services for a sudden, severe headache that peaks within seconds or minutes and feels like the worst of your life. The same applies to a headache with fever and a stiff neck, a headache with weakness or numbness in an arm or leg, slurred speech, a drooping face, confusion, or loss of vision, and any headache after a blow to the head. Do not press in any of these cases. See your doctor soon for a new headache pattern after the age of fifty, a headache that gets worse week on week, one that is worse lying down or wakes you, or tenderness over the temple with jaw pain when chewing and changes in your sight, which needs prompt checking.

Safety First

Do not press over scalp that is cut, scabbed, infected, burned or rashy, or over a lump you have not had checked. Leave the area alone after a recent head injury or surgery on the head. If you take blood thinners, bruise easily or have a bleeding disorder, use lighter pressure, keep sessions short, and talk to your doctor first. If you wear a hearing aid, take it out first so that the pressure does not push it against the ear.

Stop at once if the pain stays after you lift off, spreads, or if the area becomes swollen, hot or red. Stop too if pressing makes you dizzy or brings on a headache that is worse than before. 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 is the Shuaigu (GB8) pressure point? Shuaigu (GB8) sits on the side of your head, straight above the highest tip of your ear, about two finger-widths up into the hair. Fold the ear forward to find its tip, then slide upward. Probe until one spot stings. In English it is called the Leading Valley; in Vietnamese, Suất Cốc.

How long should I press Shuaigu? One to three minutes on each side. Keep the first sessions to about a minute, then add a little as the days go on, up to three. Once or twice a day is enough. Work both sides, even if the headache sits on one side only.

Why does this spot feel sore when I clench my teeth? The point sits on the upper part of the broad, flat muscle that closes your jaw. Clench your back teeth with your fingers on the spot and you will feel it bulge. People who grind or clench, often at night without knowing, frequently find this area tender.

Can I press Shuaigu during a migraine? Many people find gentle pressure here comforting at the start of a one-sided headache. Keep it light, because the scalp is often sensitive during an attack. If the headache is the worst you have ever had, came on in seconds, or is different from your usual pattern, do not press. Get medical help.

When is a headache an emergency? Call emergency services for a sudden, severe headache that feels like the worst of your life, a headache with fever and a stiff neck, a headache with weakness, numbness, slurred speech, confusion or loss of vision, or a headache after a blow to the head. Do not press any point in these situations.

Do I need to press both sides? Yes. Work both sides for balance, even when the ache is on one side. Many people start with the side that hurts, then do the other.

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: GB8 · Shuaigu · Leading Valley · Suất Cốc.)