Ququan (LR8): The Inner Knee Crease Point for a Stiff, Aching Knee

Where Ququan Sits

This point sits on the inner side of the knee, at the inner end of the crease that forms when you bend the knee, in a soft hollow right in front of the tendons at the back of the inner knee.

The line this point belongs to begins at the big toe, runs over the top of the foot, passes in front of the inner ankle bone and climbs the inner side of the shin. At the knee it reaches this point, then travels up the inner thigh to the groin, across the lower belly, and ends below the ribs. Vietnamese and Chinese texts call it the Liver channel. This is its eighth stop, and the place where the line crosses the knee.

The old texts place it below the inner bulge at the end of the thighbone, in the hollow above the large tendon and below the small one, found with the knee bent, at the end of the crease across the back of the knee. The Vietnamese handbook gives a short version: bend the knee to ninety degrees so the tendons show, and take the point at the inner end of the crease. The World Health Organization's 2008 standard puts it in a hollow on the inner side of the tendons of two inner hamstring muscles, at the inner end of the knee crease.

Underneath, the inner end of the thighbone swells into a rounded bump (the medial epicondyle), and the point lies right below and behind it. Behind the point run the tendons of the inner hamstrings (the semitendinosus and semimembranosus). Close by, other tendons from the inner thigh come down to attach to the top of the shinbone. One of them, from the long strap-like muscle that crosses the front of the thigh (the sartorius), passes close in front. This corner is crowded with tendons, which is why it so often feels tender.

The skin here is served by a branch of the saphenous nerve, the long nerve of the inner leg that comes from the femoral nerve and the upper lumbar roots. The long vein of the inner leg, the great saphenous vein, runs nearby. Press firmly but not hard, and avoid any vein you can see bulging under the skin.

Why This Spot

On the anatomical side, the inner knee takes much of the body's weight when you walk, and many people with worn knees feel the ache first on the inner side. The tendons that cross this corner tighten when the joint is stiff, and the soft tissue between them often turns tender. With the knee bent, the crease marks the height and the tendons mark the back edge, so the point is easy to find without measuring.

In this tradition the point is described as the sea point of its channel, where the flow is said to run deep and gather, like a river entering the sea. Sea points at the knee are commonly used for the knee itself and for complaints further along the channel. The Vietnamese handbook puts the knee first in its list for this point, which matches how it is used today.

The name says where it sits. The crook is the bend of the knee, and the spring is the small hollow at its inner end. The Vietnamese name, Khúc Tuyền, carries the same two words: bend and spring.

What the Old Texts Say About Ququan

The Lingshu, the Spiritual Pivot, a Han-dynasty text, names this point as the sea point of the Liver channel. It places it below the bony bump on the inner knee and above the large tendon, and says it is found with the knee bent. That description has held for close to two thousand years.

The Vietnamese handbook of points and channels by Ngo Trung Trieu, published by Hong Duc, quotes the location from older sources, including the Illustrated Classic of Points on the Bronze Figure, made in 1026 for teaching with a life-sized bronze model. That book and its bronze figures were how points were checked in imperial examinations. The location it records is the same: at the head of the crease behind the knee, with the knee bent.

For uses, the handbook lists the knee first: inflammation of the knee joint and of the soft tissue around it. It then lists complaints of the lower belly and the water passages, which in this tradition belong to the path of the channel through the groin and lower abdomen. This page is about the knee, where the point is most often used for pressing on yourself.

In the wider tradition, this point and its neighbour a finger's width behind it are often worked together, one on each side of the inner hamstring tendons. Together they cover the inner end of the knee crease, the spot that aches in many stiff knees. Long use rather than proof stands behind this pairing. It tells you the point was trusted for the kind of inner knee ache that comes with age and wear.

Points That Work With Ququan

The first partner sits right next to it, a finger's width further back, between the two tendons at the back of the inner knee. In this tradition the two are commonly pressed together for an aching inner knee, one in front of the tendons and one between them.

The second sits below the inner knee. Run your thumb up the inner edge of the shinbone from the ankle until it stops under the bony flare below the knee. The point is in that hollow. It is used with this one when the inner knee aches and the lower leg feels heavy or puffy.

The third is far down the same line, on the top of the foot. Slide a finger from the web between the big toe and second toe up toward the ankle, until it stops where the two long bones meet. It is used with this one when tension seems to run all the way from the foot to the knee.

How to Find and Press Ququan

Getting Into Position

Sit on a firm chair with the knee bent to roughly a right angle and the foot flat on the floor. Let the knee fall a little outward so the inner side faces your hand. If that is awkward, cross the leg to be pressed over the other knee, or sit on a bed with the knee bent.

How to Find It

Look at the inner side of the bent knee. A crease runs from the back of the knee around toward the inner side. Follow it with your fingertip toward the back until you meet firm cords running up and down; these are the inner hamstring tendons. If you cannot feel them, press your heel down and back into the floor and they will tighten. The soft hollow right in front of those cords, at the end of the crease, is the area.

Now probe it with a rounded-tip pressing tool, or the tip of your thumb with the nail cut short. Move slowly in small steps around the hollow. Most of it will feel like ordinary tissue. One spot will sting: a small, sharp, pinpoint tenderness. That spot is the point. If you can see a vein bulging under the skin, work beside it, not 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 inward, toward the middle of the knee. Rest your other hand on top of the knee to keep it still. Keep the tip on the same spot; do not let it slide onto the tendons or the bone.

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 area turns swollen, hot or red, stop and leave it for several days. If you are holding your breath, you are pressing too hard. Ease off until you can breathe slowly through the sting.

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 knee complains. Once or twice a day is plenty. Pressing longer does not add benefit; it mostly adds soreness.

When to Do It

Morning suits a knee that is stiff on waking. Late afternoon suits a knee that has stiffened after walking, standing or sitting with the legs crossed. Before bed is a good time too, as part of winding down. Do not press in the middle of the night. If an aching knee wakes 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 remove the reason your knee aches. Inner knee pain usually comes from wear in the inner part of the joint, a worn cartilage pad, weak thigh muscles, extra weight, or a knee that bows inward or outward. Irritation of the tendons that attach below the inner knee is also common. A point at the inner crease cannot change the shape of the joint. Pressing works best alongside the plain things: gentle strengthening of the thigh and hip, regular walking, a daily stretch, and shoes that support you.

It will not replace a diagnosis either. A knee that is suddenly hot, swollen and red needs to be seen, especially with a fever. So does a knee that locks, gives way, or will not take your weight after a twist. One calf that is suddenly swollen, warm and painful needs urgent assessment, because it can mean a clot in a deep vein. Pain in the groin or lower belly is not a reason to press here; it is a reason to see a doctor. Pain that wakes you every night, or worsens week on week, belongs with a doctor.

Safety First

Do not press over skin that is broken, burned, infected, badly bruised or rashy, or over bulging or painful veins. Leave the area alone with a recent injury, unexplained swelling, or a plate, pin or implant under the skin. Skip this point if the knee is hot and swollen, or if you had surgery on that knee recently, and ask your surgeon when you may start. If you take blood thinners, bruise easily, have a bleeding disorder, or have reduced feeling in your legs, 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. 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 Ququan (LR8) pressure point? Ququan (LR8) sits on the inner side of the knee. Bend the knee to a right angle and find the inner end of the crease. The point is in the soft hollow there, right in front of the firm tendons at the back of the inner knee. In English it is called the Spring at the Crook; in Vietnamese, Khúc Tuyền.

How long should I press Ququan? 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 knee aches.

What is the second dot in the picture? The second dot, further back toward the back of the knee, is Yingu (KI10), a neighbouring point between the two tendons. It is shown to help you see where this one sits. Ququan (LR8), the point of this page, is the front dot, closer to the kneecap.

Should I press Ququan and Yingu together? Many people do. Ququan (LR8) and Yingu (KI10) sit a finger's width apart at the inner end of the knee crease. Press the front one first, then the back one, or alternate between them. Both suit an aching inner knee.

Can I press Ququan if my knee is swollen? Not if the knee is hot and swollen, or if you had surgery on that knee recently. A knee that has puffed up and turned warm needs a doctor first. Once it has settled and been checked, you can come back to the point with light pressure.

Why is the inner knee often sore here? Several tendons from the inner thigh cross the knee at this corner, and the inner part of the joint takes much of the load when you walk. In people with worn or stiff knees the soft tissue here is often tender. A small sting under the tip that fades as you lift off is what you want.

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: LR8 · Ququan · Spring at the Crook · Khúc Tuyền.)