Jianyu (LI15): The Shoulder-Tip Point for an Aching Shoulder and an Arm That Will Not Lift

Where Jianyu Sits

This point sits in the front of the two dimples at the shoulder tip, about one thumb-width in front of the back dimple, and it is used for an aching shoulder and an arm that will not lift. This line starts at the tip of the index finger. It runs up the thumb side of the back of the hand, through the web between thumb and index finger, and up the outer edge of the forearm to the elbow crease. From there it climbs the outer upper arm to the point of the shoulder, crosses the neck and ends beside the nose. Vietnamese and Chinese texts call it the Large Intestine channel. Its name comes from the organ it is said to connect to inside the body, but its points on the arm are used for the arm. This is the fifteenth stop, the one at the shoulder tip.

The Vietnamese reference places it with the arm held straight out to the side, in the dip at the front and outer edge of the shoulder joint. Its quick finder is shorter still: at the tip of the shoulder, right on the joint. The international standard published by the World Health Organization in 2008 adds a useful detail. When the arm is lifted out to the side, two dips appear around the bony point of the shoulder, one in front and one behind. This point is in the front one, which is the deeper of the two.

Underneath is the deltoid, the rounded cap of muscle that gives the shoulder its shape and lifts the arm out to the side. The point sits between the bony roof of the shoulder (the acromion) and the knob at the top of the upper-arm bone. Under the deltoid there is a small fluid-filled cushion (the subacromial bursa). Below that runs the tendon of a muscle that starts every sideways lift of the arm. When that tendon and cushion are irritated or squeezed, this is often where the ache is felt.

The nerve supply explains the sensation. The deltoid is driven by the axillary nerve, which comes from the fifth and sixth roots of the neck part of the spinal cord. The skin over the shoulder tip is served by branches from the same part of the neck. That is why a neck problem can show up as pain at the shoulder tip, and why a firm press here can be felt down the outer upper arm.

Why This Spot

The shoulder is the most mobile joint in the body, and it pays for it. Reaching up to a shelf, hanging washing, lifting a grandchild, sleeping on one side: each of these loads the small space between the bony roof and the top of the arm bone. Over the years, the tendons and cushion that run through that space thicken and fray. The result is a shoulder that aches when the arm goes out to the side, catches on the way up, and complains when you lie on it. The dimple at the front of the shoulder tip sits directly over that space. It is easy to find, and the bone around it keeps the thumb in place.

In this tradition the name describes the place: the Shoulder Corner. It refers to the angle where the collarbone and the top of the shoulder blade meet the arm. On the traditional map it marks where the arm line turns from the limb to the trunk. In this tradition it is described as one of the main points for any complaint that sits in the shoulder joint itself, as opposed to the neck or the upper back.

The point is also traditionally used to help an arm that has stiffened from lack of use move more freely. That use reflects the tradition's view that the arm channel needs to stay open from fingertip to shoulder.

What the Old Texts Say About Jianyu

The Vietnamese handbook used by The Neuro Reset, Ngô Trung Triều's Acupoints and Channels of the Human Body (Huyệt vị kinh lạc cơ thể người), lists the uses that have come down through the tradition: pain in the arm and shoulder, aching joints, muscle pain that worsens in damp, cold weather, and some skin complaints. The first three still cover nearly every reason someone presses this point today. The link with weather is worth noticing. People with long-standing shoulder pain often say it is worse on cold, wet days. The tradition named that pattern long before anyone measured it.

What stands out in the older instruction is the posture. The reference does more than say where the point is. It says to hold the arm straight out to the side and then look for the dip. That is a movement test, and it works. Lift the arm and the deltoid shortens. The bony point of the shoulder stands out. The two dips appear on either side of it. The modern international standard keeps the same test and names the bones.

There is also a practical difference between the older and newer descriptions. The Vietnamese quick finder places the point "right on the joint". The international standard puts it in the front of two dimples. On a real shoulder, especially one that has been stiff for years, those dimples can be faint. That is why the method here does not rely on measurement alone. You find the area from the bone, then let the sting under the thumb tip tell you exactly where the point is.

Across the tradition, the point is paired with partners on the same arm line and with the dimple behind the shoulder tip. Those pairings are described in the next section.

Points That Work With Jianyu

The closest partner is the second dimple, behind the shoulder tip. With the arm lifted out to the side, slide from this point backward over the bony tip and down into the dip at the back of the shoulder. It sits about a thumb-width behind this one. The two are used together for a shoulder that will not lift, one in front and one behind, often in the same session.

The second partner is at the elbow, on the same arm line. Bend the elbow and find the outer end of the crease, on the thumb side. The soft dip there is commonly used for an aching arm and elbow. It is a good place to work when the shoulder itself is too sore to touch.

The third partner is on the hand, in the mound of muscle in the web between the thumb and first finger. It sits at the start of the same arm line and is used for pain anywhere along it. It is traditionally avoided in pregnancy, so leave it out if you are pregnant.

How to Find and Press Jianyu

Getting Into Position

Sit beside a table and rest the elbow of the sore arm on it, so the arm is supported a little away from your side. This opens the dimples at the shoulder tip without asking the shoulder to hold the arm up. Drop the shoulder and let the hand rest loose. The opposite hand reaches the front of the shoulder easily. A helper can stand beside you if you prefer.

How to Find It

With the arm resting out to the side, use the fingers of your other hand to find the bony point at the very tip of the shoulder. It is the hard edge at the outer end of the top of the shoulder. Slide your fingertips down off its front edge. Your fingers will drop into a soft dimple between the bone above and the rounded top of the arm bone below. That dimple is the area. If you rock the arm gently forward and back, you will feel the arm bone roll under your fingers.

Probe inside the dimple slowly with the thumb tip. Most of the tissue will feel soft and mildly tender. One small spot will sting. It is a sharp, pinpoint tenderness under the thumb tip that fades as soon as you lift off. That spot is the point. On a sore shoulder it is often very easy to find. If you feel an electric jolt or tingling down the arm, lift off and move a little aside.

How to Press It

The method has three steps. Find the area, probe inside it until one spot stings, then rub that spot in small circles. Use the tip of your thumb with the nail cut short, or a pressing tool with a rounded tip. Keep the rest of your hand wrapped lightly around the shoulder for support.

Press into the dimple toward the centre of the joint, not down onto the bone above it. Keep the circles small and slow, no wider than a grain of rice. Keep the arm resting on the table the whole time. If you lift the arm while pressing, the muscle tightens and the dimple closes.

How Much Pressure

Use your body as the gauge. If you are holding your breath, clenching your jaw or hitching the shoulder toward your ear, you are pressing too hard. Sharp under the thumb tip is right. That sting is the sign you are on the point, and it should fade when you lift off. Stop if the pain stays after you lift off, if it spreads down the arm, or if the shoulder turns swollen, hot or red. Stop at once for electric, numb or tingling sensations.

How Long

One to three minutes on each shoulder. In the first sessions stay close to one minute, then add a little as the days go on. Once or twice a day is plenty. Do both shoulders, even when only one hurts. Give a little more time to the sore side if it stings more, but do not press harder.

When to Do It

Mornings suit a shoulder that wakes up stiff. Before a task that needs the arm, such as hanging washing or reaching into cupboards, a short round can help the arm move more freely. A gentle round in the hour before bed can help the shoulder settle. Do not press in the middle of the night. If the shoulder wakes you, change position, support the arm on a pillow, and leave the pressing for the morning or the next evening.

What This Won't Do

It will not undo years of load on the joint. With most shoulders over fifty, the ache comes from worn tendons, a narrowed space under the bony roof, sleeping on the same side, or work done with the arm above shoulder height. Pressing a dimple at the shoulder tip does not reverse any of that. Sleep on the other side or on your back with a pillow under the arm, keep heavy objects at waist height, and keep the arm moving gently every day. Then this point has something to add. On its own it is a comfort measure, and it will not promise you an unbroken night.

It will not replace a diagnosis either. Shoulder pain that comes with chest pressure, breathlessness, sweating, nausea or pain into the jaw is an emergency. Call for help immediately; do not sit pressing your shoulder. See a doctor promptly if you cannot lift the arm at all after a fall or a sudden pull. The same applies to a shoulder that looks out of shape, a joint that is hot, swollen or red, or numbness or weakness in the arm and hand. Pain that worsens week on week, night pain that will not settle, or any of this with fever or unexplained weight loss also needs a doctor.

Safety First

Leave this point alone with a fresh injury, a recent dislocation or fracture, or within the first weeks after shoulder surgery unless your surgeon has cleared it. Do not work over a joint replacement without asking your surgeon. If you take blood thinners, bruise easily, have a bleeding disorder or reduced feeling in your arms, use lighter pressure and keep sessions short. After lymph nodes have been removed from the armpit, ask your clinician before pressing anywhere on that arm. Do not work over skin that is broken, burned, infected or badly bruised.

Stop if the pain stays after you lift off, spreads, or the area turns swollen, hot or red, and stop for any electric, numb or tingling sensation down the arm. Nothing here asks you to push through pain. 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 Jianyu (LI15) pressure point? Jianyu (LI15) sits at the front edge of the shoulder tip. Lift your arm out to the side and two dimples appear around the bony point of the shoulder, one in front and one behind. The point is in the front one, which is usually the deeper of the two.

What if I cannot lift my arm far enough to see the dimple? Lift it only as far as is comfortable, or rest the elbow on a table or the back of a sofa so the arm is supported a little away from your side. Even a small lift softens the front of the shoulder. Then feel for the bony tip and slide down off its front edge until the fingertip settles into a soft dip.

How long should I press Jianyu (LI15)? One to three minutes on each shoulder. Keep it close to one minute in the first sessions and add a little as the days go on. Once or twice a day is enough. Do both shoulders, even if only one hurts.

Is Jianyu (LI15) the same point as the one behind the shoulder tip? No. This point is in the front dimple. A second point sits in the dimple behind the shoulder tip, a thumb-width further back. The two are often used together, one in front and one behind, for a shoulder that will not lift.

My shoulder hurts at night. Should I press the point then? No. This method does not press in the middle of the night. Change position, support the arm on a pillow, and leave the pressing for the morning or the hour before bed. Night pain that keeps returning is also a reason to have the shoulder examined.

What is Jianyu (LI15) used for, and what does the name mean? In Vietnamese traditional medicine it is commonly used for an aching shoulder, an arm that will not lift and stiffness around the shoulder joint. The name means "the Shoulder Corner", for the angle where the collarbone and shoulder blade meet the arm. In Vietnamese the point is called Kiên Ngung. It is a comfort measure that sits alongside movement and medical care, not in place of them.

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: LI15 · Jianyu · The Shoulder Corner · Kiên Ngung.)