Taichong (LR3): The Top-of-Foot Point for Headaches and Tension

Where Taichong Sits

This point sits on the top of the foot, in the dip where the long bones of the big toe and the second toe come together, roughly two thumb-widths (about 4 cm) back from the web between those toes.

This line runs up the inner side of the leg from the big toe. The traditional map starts it at the outer corner of the big toenail, the side next to the second toe. It runs back over the top of the foot, crosses in front of the inner ankle, climbs the inner shin and thigh, and ends on the side of the ribcage. Vietnamese and Chinese texts call it the Liver channel. This dip on the top of the foot is the third stop along it, and of all the points on the line it is the one most often used.

The old texts place it behind the joint at the base of the big toe, two proportional units behind the point in the toe web. A Vietnamese reference text notes that some books say one and a half units instead. Those units scale to your own body, and two of them are about the width of two of your own thumbs side by side. In practice the bones do the measuring for you. Slide a fingertip back from the web between the big toe and second toe, along the gap between the two long foot bones. Where the gap narrows and your fingertip stops, in the angle where the two bones meet, is the area.

Under the skin, the two long bones of the foot that lead to the big toe and the second toe run side by side and come together near the middle of the foot. Between them lies a small muscle that spreads the toes. A short tendon to the big toe crosses nearby. An artery runs over the top of the foot here, close enough to the surface that many people can feel it beat. That pulse is a useful landmark: the point lies beside it, not on it.

The nerve supply explains what you feel. The skin of the web between the big toe and second toe, and the tissue beneath this point, are served by the deep fibular nerve. It carries fibres from the fifth lumbar root of the spine, a root that also serves the front of the shin and the muscles that lift the foot. A heavy press directly on the nerve can send a tingle toward the toes. That feeling means move, not push harder.

Why This Spot

The dip is easy to find and hard to lose. Two firm bones form a narrowing channel, and your fingertip stops on its own when it reaches the angle. There is little padding on top of the foot. A small, firm tip reaches the sore spot with modest force. And you can reach it sitting with your foot flat on the floor, without bending far or crossing your legs.

It is also a spot that is tender in most people. The small muscle between the bones works with every step and every push-off. In people who have walked for decades in tight shoes, or whose big toe has drifted, this dip is often sore. That makes the sting easy to find.

In this tradition the point has a central role. It is the source point of its channel, a place where the channel's own strength is said to surface most clearly. Classical writers linked this channel with the smooth flow of the body's movement and mood, and pictured tension, irritability and headaches at the top of the head as signs of that flow getting stuck. A point that touches the whole channel from one dip on the foot was therefore used to ease things that build up and rise, which is why it sits on so many lists for headaches and tension.

What the Old Texts Say About Taichong

The name means the great rushing. It pictures the flow of the channel surging forward at this point, strong and full. Names on the channel map were teaching aids, and this one tells students that the point is a place of movement, where things that have stalled can be set going again.

A Vietnamese reference text on the channels, by Ngô Trung Triều, lists the point for headache, dizziness, swelling and puffiness, complaints of the face, and several others. It places the point behind the first joint of the big toe, two units back from the point in the toe web, and records the small disagreement over distance: some books give one and a half units. Its quick finding method is the one on this page. Feel along the gap between the two foot bones and take the angle where they meet, level with the place where the shafts join their bases.

In this tradition the point also belongs to a well-known set of four. Worked together with the point in the web between thumb and first finger, on both hands and both feet, it forms what practitioners call the four gates. The set is commonly used when tension and aches are spread across the body rather than settled in one place. You will find the hand point described in the next section.

In 2008 the World Health Organization published a single standard for point locations across the Western Pacific region, to settle disagreements like the one over distance. Its entry places this point on the top of the foot, between the first and second foot bones, in the depression in front of the place where the two bones join, over the pulse of the artery on top of the foot. That settles the question in favour of the bones rather than the ruler.

Points That Work With Taichong

The most important partner is on the hand. Press your thumb against the side of your first finger and look at the soft mound of muscle that rises in the web between them. The point sits at the highest part of that mound. Together with this foot point, on both sides, it forms the four gates described above. Work the hands first, then the feet.

The second partner is on the outer side of the lower leg. Find the small, round bony knob on the outside of the leg a little below the knee. The point sits in the dip in front of and slightly below that knob. It is commonly used for tight, aching muscles and stiff joints in the legs, and it pairs with this foot point when tension sits in the legs as well as the head.

The third is on the inner side of the lower leg. Lay four fingers above the inner ankle bone and press into the groove right behind the shinbone at the level of the top finger. In this tradition three lines cross there, including this one. It suits a before-bed routine, worked after the foot.

How to Find and Press Taichong

Getting Into Position

Sit on a firm chair with your foot flat on the floor, or rest the foot on a low stool so you do not have to bend so far. Let the toes relax. Curling or lifting them tightens the tendons on top of the foot and hides the dip. If you prefer, cross the foot over the opposite knee and work it from above.

How to Find It

Put a fingertip in the web between the big toe and the second toe. Slide it back along the gap between the two long foot bones, toward the ankle. The gap feels like a narrow valley with firm walls either side. Keep sliding until your fingertip stops in a dip where the two bones come together, usually about two thumb-widths back from the web. If you feel a pulse there, you are in the right place.

That gives you the area, not yet the point. Now probe. Take a rounded-tip pressing tool, or the tip of your thumb with the nail cut short, and press small spots around that dip, a little toward the toes, a little toward the ankle, closer to the big-toe bone. Most of it feels like ordinary pressure. One spot will sting: a sharp, pinpoint tenderness. That is the point. Keep the tip off the pulse itself, and probe fresh each session, because the sore spot can shift a few millimetres from day to day.

How to Press It

Keep the tip on the spot that stings and rub it in small, slow circles, no wider than a grain of rice, without lifting off. Aim slightly toward the big-toe bone and a little back toward the ankle, into the angle, rather than straight down onto the pulse.

If you use your thumb, wrap your fingers under the sole for support and let the thumb tip circle. If you use a tool, hold it like a pen, close to the tip. Keep the circles slow, about one a second.

How Much Pressure

Sharp under the tip is right. That pinpoint sting tells you that you are on the point, and it should fade within moments of lifting off. Pain that stays after you lift off is not right, nor is pain that spreads across the foot, or an area that turns swollen, hot or red. Stop if any of those happen. Stop too for any electric, tingling or numb feeling running into the toes; move the tip a little and lighten. If you notice you are holding your breath or clenching your jaw, ease off.

How Long

One to three minutes on each foot. For the first few sessions keep to about a minute a side, because this dip is tender in most people. Over the following days, as the sting settles, work up toward two and then three minutes. Do both feet. Once or twice a day is plenty.

When to Do It

Tension and headaches tend to build through the day, so the late afternoon is a good time, before the ache has set in. A session after a stressful conversation or a long drive also suits it. In the evening it fits into a short routine before bed. Pass urine, sit on the edge of the bed, work the hands and then the feet, then lie down. Many people in their fifties, sixties and seventies are woken in the small hours by pain or the bladder rather than lying awake at the start; the routine belongs before you lie down. What this method does not do is press in the middle of the night. If you wake, leave the point alone and let yourself settle.

What This Won't Do

It will not stop headaches or remove what causes tension. Headaches have many causes: a stiff neck, eye strain, too little water, too much caffeine, medicines, poor sleep. Tension comes from the life you are living. A dip on the foot reaches none of those directly. What it offers is a few focused minutes, a sore spot that many people find eases as they work it, and a small habit that marks the end of a hard day. Take it as a comfort measure, and a worthwhile one.

It will not replace a doctor either. A sudden, severe headache, the worst you have had, is an emergency. So is a headache with weakness or numbness on one side, a drooping face, trouble speaking, confusion or loss of vision: call for help at once. A headache with fever and a stiff neck needs urgent attention. New headaches after fifty, headaches that wake you at night, dizziness with falls or fainting, and swelling in both feet that is getting worse all need a doctor. Time spent pressing is time not spent getting those looked at.

Safety First

Do not work over skin that is broken, infected, badly bruised or rashy. Leave the foot alone with a recent fracture, a fresh sprain, or a joint that is hot, red and swollen. Never press on a bulging vein, and do not rub directly on the pulse. If you have varicose veins or have ever had a clot in the leg, ask your doctor before pressing. If you have diabetes or poor feeling in your feet, check the skin of your feet first and ask your doctor before you start, because you may not feel when pressure is too much. With blood thinners or easy bruising, use the lightest pressure that still finds the sting.

Stop at once if the pain stays after you lift off, spreads, or the area turns swollen, hot or red, and stop for any electric or numb feeling. 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 Taichong (LR3) pressure point? Taichong (LR3), the Great Rushing (Thái Xung in Vietnamese), is on the top of the foot. Put a fingertip in the web between the big toe and the second toe and slide back along the gap between the two long foot bones. Your fingertip stops in a dip where the bones come together, about two thumb-widths back. Probe there until one spot stings.

What are the "four gates"? In this tradition, this point on both feet and the point in the web between thumb and first finger on both hands are worked together as a set of four. The pairing is commonly used for tension and aches spread across the body. Work the hands first, then the feet, one to three minutes each.

Can Taichong (LR3) help with headaches? In this tradition it is one of the points most often used for headaches, especially ones that come with tension or irritability. Many people like having a point they can reach sitting down. But a sudden, severe headache, or one with weakness, confusion or trouble speaking, is an emergency.

I can feel a pulse under my fingertip. Am I in the wrong place? No, you are close. An artery runs over the top of the foot right here. Move the tip a few millimetres off the beat, toward the big-toe bone, and probe there for the spot that stings. Do not rub directly on the pulse.

How long should I press Taichong (LR3)? One to three minutes on each foot. For the first few sessions keep to about a minute a side, because this dip is tender in most people, then add a little as the days go on. A sharp sting under the tip that fades when you lift off is normal. Once or twice a day is enough, in the daytime or before bed, never in the middle of the night. Do both feet.

Can I press it if I have a bunion or a sore big-toe joint? Usually, because the point sits well back from the big-toe joint. Keep the tip on the dip, not on the joint itself. If the big-toe joint is hot, red and swollen, leave the whole foot alone and see a doctor.

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: LR3 · Taichong · The Great Rushing · Thái Xung.)