Fuliu (KI7): The Inner Ankle Point for Cold, Puffy Legs and Night Sweats

Where Fuliu Sits

This point sits on the inner side of the lower leg, about three finger widths above the inner ankle bone, against the front edge of the thick heel cord.

The line it belongs to starts on the sole of the foot, in the dip behind the ball of the foot. It crosses to the inner side of the foot, circles behind the inner ankle bone and then climbs the inner side of the leg, close to the back. It passes the inner knee, runs up the inner thigh, and rises over the belly and chest to end below the collarbone. Vietnamese and Chinese texts call it the Kidney channel. This is its seventh stop, the first after the line leaves the ankle and starts up the leg.

The old texts place it two units above the inner ankle. A unit here is the width of your own thumb at the knuckle, so two units is about three of your fingers laid side by side. The World Health Organization's 2008 standard adds the detail that matters: the point lies against the front edge of the heel cord, two units above the most prominent part of the inner ankle bone. The easiest way to find it is to start in the hollow between the ankle bone and the heel cord and go straight up.

Underneath, the heel cord, the Achilles tendon, lies right behind the point. In front of it, deeper, runs a long muscle that curls the toes (the flexor digitorum longus). Deep in the gap between them run the large nerve to the sole of the foot, the tibial nerve, and the artery beside it. The skin here is served by branches of the saphenous nerve and the nerve of the inner calf, and the tibial nerve comes from the lower lumbar and upper sacral roots. That is why a heavy press straight into the gap can send a tingle toward the sole. The point itself lies on the edge of the cord, not in the middle of the gap.

Why This Spot

On the anatomical side, this is where fluid tends to collect when the legs are tired. The skin above the inner ankle is thin, the tissue is soft, and when you stand or sit with your feet down all day, a puffy band often forms here first. The calf muscle pump, which pushes blood and fluid back up the leg with each step, works less well when you walk less. Working this area, with the foot raised, is a natural place to start when the lower legs feel thick and heavy by evening.

In this tradition the point is described as one that brings back a flow that has stalled, which is what its name says. It is the river point of the Kidney channel and the one linked with metal, and metal is said to feed water, the element of this channel. That is why the old teachers turned to it for both sides of the water balance: legs that hold too much fluid, and a body that loses too much through sweating. The Kidney channel is also described as the root of warmth in the lower body, so cold legs and a tired lower back belong to the same picture.

What the Old Texts Say About Fuliu

The Lingshu, the Spiritual Pivot, a Han-dynasty text, lists the key points along each channel from the toes upward. In its chapter on these root points, it places this one two units above the inner ankle and notes that something there moves without rest, a pulse you can feel beating under the finger. It names the point a river point, where the flow is described as broad and steady. Many centuries later, the location is the same.

The Vietnamese handbook of points and channels by Ngo Trung Trieu, published by Hong Duc, lists it for lower back pain, weakness of the legs, diarrhoea, and night sweats. Notice the spread. The legs and lower back follow the line of the channel. The sweating reflects the tradition's view of this point as a regulator of fluids.

The handbook's finding method is plain. Go straight up two units from the hollow behind the inner ankle bone, and take the point in the groove at the front of the heel cord, where it meets the long toe-flexing muscle. That is the method used on this page.

In the wider tradition, this point is famous for its role with sweating. Teachers pair it with a point on the hand: one to ease sweating that comes too freely, the other to bring it on when it will not come. That reputation comes from long use and teaching rather than from trials. It tells you the point was trusted, over many generations, for the cold, heavy, sweaty discomforts that often come with age.

Points That Work With Fuliu

The first partner is close by, at the bottom of the same line. Slide your fingertip from the inner ankle bone straight back toward the heel and stop in the hollow in front of the heel cord. It is used with this one when the legs feel cold and tired and sleep is broken, and the two can be worked in one sitting.

The second sits a little higher on the inner leg. Place the edge of your little finger on the tip of the inner ankle bone and lay four fingers above it; the point is right behind the shin bone at the top of your index finger. It is commonly paired with this one when the legs feel heavy and puffy.

The third 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 used with this one when the feet are cold and the legs feel drained.

How to Find and Press Fuliu

Getting Into Position

Sit on a firm chair and lift one foot onto the opposite knee, so the inner side of the lower leg faces up. If that is hard on the hip, sit on the bed with your back supported, bend the knee and let it fall outward. Better still for puffy legs, sit with the foot raised on a cushion. Let the calf and foot go soft.

How to Find It

Put your fingertip on the round inner ankle bone and slide straight back into the hollow between the bone and the thick heel cord. Now lay three fingers above that hollow, along the leg, with your lowest finger in the hollow. At the top of your fingers, feel for the front edge of the heel cord. The area is the soft strip right in front of the cord, at that height.

Now probe it with a rounded-tip pressing tool, or the tip of your thumb with the nail cut short. Move slowly up and down a little along the edge of the cord. Most of it will feel like soft tissue. One spot will sting: a small, sharp, pinpoint tenderness. That spot is the point. If you feel a pulse beating under the tip, or a tingle toward the sole of the foot, you are too deep in the gap. Move back onto the edge of the cord and use less force.

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 in toward the centre of the leg and slightly forward, away from the cord. Hold the shin with your other hand so the leg stays still. Keep the tip on the same spot; do not let it slide onto the tendon or down toward the ankle.

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 the area turns swollen, hot or red, stop and leave it for several days. Stop too for any tingling or numbness toward the sole. If you are holding your breath, you are pressing too hard. Ease off until you can breathe slowly through the sting. On puffy skin, lighter is better, because the tissue bruises more easily.

How Long

Work each leg 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 legs, even when only one feels heavy. Once or twice a day is plenty. Pressing longer does not add benefit; it mostly adds soreness.

When to Do It

Late afternoon suits legs that have grown heavy and puffy after a day on your feet: put the feet up, then press. Before bed is a good time too, as part of winding down, especially if cold legs keep you from settling. Morning works if the lower back is stiff on waking. Do not press in the middle of the night. If sweating or cold feet wake you, pressing then tends to wake you further. Keep the pressing for the day and the evening.

What This Won't Do

It will not drain swollen legs, warm feet that are cold because of poor circulation, or stop night sweats that have a medical cause. With swollen legs, the reason may be the veins, the kidneys, other organs, too much salt, sitting for long hours, or a medicine. With night sweats, it may be hot flushes, an infection, a medicine, or something that needs blood tests. A point above your ankle cannot out-argue any of that. Pressing works best alongside the plain things: walking, ankle pumps, raising the legs in the afternoon, support stockings if your doctor suggests them, and a cooler bedroom.

It will not replace a diagnosis either. One calf that is suddenly swollen, warm and painful needs urgent assessment, because it can mean a clot in a deep vein. Swelling in both legs that is new or getting worse, or that comes with breathlessness or a cough at night, needs a doctor soon. Sweats that soak the sheets, especially with fever or weight loss you cannot explain, need to be checked. Feet that turn pale, blue or very cold, or a sore on the foot that will not close, need to be seen, not pressed.

Safety First

Do not press over skin that is broken, burned, infected, badly bruised or rashy, over swollen, hard or tender veins, or over a leg ulcer. Leave the area alone with a recent fracture, a fresh sprain, unexplained swelling, or a plate, pin or screw under the skin. Skip this point if the calf is suddenly swollen, warm and painful. If you take blood thinners, bruise easily, have a bleeding disorder, or have reduced feeling in your legs and feet, use lighter pressure, keep sessions short, and talk to your doctor first.

Stop at once if the pain stays after you lift off, spreads, or if the area becomes swollen, hot or red. Stop too for any electric or numb sensation toward the sole. 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 Fuliu (KI7) pressure point? Fuliu (KI7) sits on the inner side of the lower leg, two thumb widths above the inner ankle bone, against the front edge of the thick heel cord. Start in the hollow behind the ankle bone and go straight up about three finger widths. In English it is called the Returning Current; in Vietnamese, Phục Lưu.

How long should I press Fuliu? One to three minutes on each leg. 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 legs, even if only one feels heavy.

Can it help my swollen ankles? In this tradition the point is commonly used for lower legs that feel cold, heavy and puffy, and many people find the legs feel lighter after rubbing it with the feet raised. It does not remove the cause. New swelling, swelling in one leg only, or swelling that leaves a deep dent when pressed needs a doctor's check first.

I wake up drenched in sweat. Should I press it at night? No. Press it in the daytime and again before bed, not in the middle of the night. Night sweats are listed for this point in the old handbooks, but sweats that soak the sheets, especially with fever or weight loss you cannot explain, need a doctor. Hot flushes, some medicines and a warm bedroom are common causes too.

How is this different from the point right behind the ankle bone? The point behind the ankle bone, Taixi (KI3), sits level with the tip of the ankle bone, in the hollow before the heel cord. Fuliu sits on the same line, two thumb widths higher, still against the cord. They are often worked one after the other.

I feel a pulse under my finger. Am I in the right place? You are close. An artery runs deep in this area, and the old texts note a pulse that beats here. Do not press on the beat itself. Move your tool slightly back onto the edge of the heel cord and probe for the small stinging spot there.

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: KI7 · Fuliu · Returning Current · Phục Lưu.)