Chize (LU5): The Elbow Crease Point for an Aching Elbow and Arm

Where Chize Sits

This point sits in the crease on the inside of the elbow, in the soft dip right beside the thick cord of tendon in the middle of the crease, on the thumb side.

The line it belongs to begins on the upper chest, below the outer end of the collarbone. It runs down the front of the upper arm on the thumb side, through the elbow crease, along the thumb side of the forearm to the wrist, across the fleshy mound at the base of the thumb, and ends at the corner of the thumbnail. Vietnamese and Chinese texts call it the Lung channel. This is its fifth stop, and the only one at the elbow.

The old texts place it on the elbow crease, in the depression on the outer side of the biceps tendon. The biceps is the large muscle at the front of the upper arm, and its tendon is the firm cord you can feel in the middle of the elbow crease when you bend the arm against a little resistance. No measuring is needed. The crease gives you the line, and the tendon gives you the edge. Step off the tendon toward the thumb side and you are in the dip.

Underneath, the point sits between the biceps tendon on one side and the start of the forearm muscle that bends the elbow when the thumb points up, on the other (the brachioradialis). Deeper lies the brachialis, the main muscle that bends the elbow. The radial nerve, which serves the muscles that open the hand and lift the wrist, runs deep in this groove. The skin is served by a branch of the musculocutaneous nerve from the sixth cervical root, the same root that serves the thumb side of the forearm. Large surface veins cross the crease here too.

Why This Spot

On the anatomical side, this dip sits where the forearm muscles that grip, carry and turn the hand begin. Years of gardening, carrying shopping, using a screwdriver or lifting grandchildren all load this corner. The tissue beside the tendon often becomes tender in people whose forearms tire easily or whose elbows ache after use. It is also easy to reach: you can press it while sitting at a table, with the other hand.

In this tradition the point carries the role of the sea point of its channel, where the flow is described as running deep, like a river entering the sea. It is also called the water point of its line. The old books turn to it for complaints of the chest, such as a cough with a tight, full chest, and for complaints along the arm, such as an elbow that will not straighten and a forearm that aches.

The name tells you where it sits. Chi, the cubit, is an old measure based on the forearm, and ze is a marsh: a low, wet place. The point is the low, soft place at the start of the forearm. Its Vietnamese name, Xích Trạch, carries the same picture.

What the Old Texts Say About Chize

The Lingshu, the Spiritual Pivot from the Han dynasty, lists the transport points of each channel in its chapter on root points. There this point is named as the sea point of the Lung channel, found in the middle of the elbow, at the pulsing place. That list of five transport points along each arm and leg is one of the oldest frameworks in point study, and this point has held its place in it for about two thousand years.

The Vietnamese handbook of points and channels by Ngo Trung Trieu, published by Hong Duc, lists it for elbow pain, a painful, swollen arm, cough, wheezing, a sore throat, swollen tonsils, and coughing blood. Its location is precise: bend the elbow, and the point is in the dip on the outer edge of the biceps tendon, on the inner edge of the upper part of the forearm muscle that runs to the thumb side of the wrist. That is the method on this page.

The World Health Organization, in its 2008 standard, keeps the same landmarks: on the elbow crease, in the depression on the outer side of the biceps tendon. Note the pattern in the old entries. Some follow the arm, and some follow the chest and throat, which the channel is said to serve. That reputation rests on long use rather than modern trials, so read the chest entries as tradition and the arm entries as the reason most people will use this point.

Points That Work With Chize

The first partner sits at the outer end of the same crease. Bend the elbow fully and find where the crease stops, toward the outside of the arm. That partner sits there, in the dip between the end of the crease and the bony knob of the outer elbow. In this tradition the two are commonly pressed together for an aching elbow.

The second sits at the other end of the line across the elbow, on the little-finger side of the same tendon. Step off the tendon toward the little finger instead of the thumb, and you find it. Pressing both sides of the tendon is a common way to settle an elbow that aches all round.

The third sits above the wrist on the thumb side. Interlace the webs of your thumbs and first fingers; the tip of your top first finger lands on a small groove on the edge of the forearm bone. In this tradition it is used with this point when the ache runs down the forearm toward the wrist.

How to Find and Press Chize

Getting Into Position

Sit at a table and rest your forearm on it, palm up. Bend the elbow a little and let it sink onto a folded towel so the arm muscles go soft. Your working hand comes from the other side. If you cannot turn the palm fully upward because of stiffness, turn it as far as is comfortable.

How to Find It

Make a gentle fist and bend the elbow slightly against the table. In the middle of the elbow crease, a firm cord stands out: that is the tendon. Now slide your fingertip off the cord toward the thumb side of the arm, staying on the crease. Your fingertip drops into a soft dip between the tendon and the thick muscle on the thumb side. Relax the fist.

Now probe the dip with a rounded-tip pressing tool, or the tip of your thumb with the nail cut short. Move slowly in small steps. Most of it will feel like ordinary soft tissue. One spot will sting: a small, sharp, pinpoint tenderness. That spot is the point. If you feel a firm, rolling tube, that is a surface vein; move off it. If you feel an electric jolt toward the back of the hand, you are on the nerve; lift off and press more lightly.

How to Press It

Keep the tip 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 arm, slightly toward the tendon. Hold the forearm still with the table so it does not roll. Keep the tip on the same spot; do not let it slide across the crease.

How Much Pressure

Sharp under the tip 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 off, if it spreads, or if the area turns swollen, hot or red, stop and leave it for several days. Stop at once for any electric or numb sensation. If you are holding your breath, or your shoulder has crept up toward your ear, you are pressing too hard. Ease off until you can breathe slowly through the sting.

How Long

Work each arm for one to three minutes. In the first sessions keep to about one minute. As the days go on, add a little time, up to three minutes. Do both arms, even when only one complains. Once or twice a day is plenty. Pressing longer does not add benefit; it mostly adds soreness, and the skin in the crease bruises more easily than most.

When to Do It

Morning suits an elbow that is stiff on waking. Late afternoon suits the forearm ache that builds after gardening, cooking, carrying or writing. Before bed is a good time too, as part of winding down. Do not press in the middle of the night. If an aching arm 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 change the reason your elbow or forearm aches. Common reasons in later life are overuse of the forearm muscles, wear in the elbow joint, tendon trouble at the bony knobs on either side of the elbow, and nerves irritated at the neck. A point in the elbow crease will not out-argue any of that. Pressing works best alongside the plain things: resting the arm after heavy tasks, lighter tools with thicker handles, gentle stretches of the forearm, and spreading heavy loads between both hands.

It will not replace a diagnosis either, and that matters more for the chest entries in the old books. A cough that lasts more than three weeks, brings up blood, or comes with fever, weight loss or breathlessness needs a doctor. Chest tightness with pain spreading into the arm, jaw or back needs emergency help. An elbow that is suddenly hot, swollen and red, especially with a fever, needs to be seen the same day. An elbow that will not straighten after a fall may be broken. Numbness or weakness in the hand belongs with a doctor, not a pressing tool.

Safety First

Do not press over skin that is broken, burned, infected, badly bruised or rashy. Leave the crease alone while a bruise from a blood test or a drip is still visible. Avoid it with a recent fracture, a fresh sprain, unexplained swelling, or a fistula or line in that arm for dialysis or a drip. Skip this point if the elbow is hot and swollen. If you take blood thinners, bruise easily, or have a bleeding disorder, 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 jolt or numbness into the hand. 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 Chize (LU5) pressure point? Chize (LU5) sits in the crease on the inside of your elbow. Bend the elbow a little and feel the thick cord of tendon in the middle of the crease. The point is in the soft dip right beside that cord, on the thumb side. In English it is called the Cubit Marsh; in Vietnamese, Xích Trạch.

How long should I press Chize? One to three minutes on each arm. Keep the first sessions to about a minute, then add a little time over the days, up to three. Once or twice a day is enough. Work both arms, even if only one aches.

Is this the same as the point at the end of the elbow crease? No, but they are neighbours. The point at the outer end of the crease sits further toward the outside of the elbow, where the crease stops. This one is closer to the middle, right beside the tendon. Many people press the two one after the other.

Can I press it if I have tennis elbow? The sore spot in tennis elbow is on the outer bony knob of the elbow, a little away from this point. In this tradition this point is commonly used along with its neighbours for an aching elbow and forearm. Keep the pressure light, and let the sore outer knob rest rather than digging into it.

I had blood taken from this arm. Can I still press here? Wait until any bruise from the blood test has gone, usually a week or two. The large veins used for blood tests run across this crease, and pressing on a fresh puncture or bruise can make it worse.

The old books say it helps a cough. Should I use it for that? In this tradition it is commonly used for a tight chest and a cough, and you may press it for comfort. But a cough that lasts more than three weeks, brings up blood, or comes with fever or breathlessness needs a doctor, not pressing.

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: LU5 · Chize · Cubit Marsh · Xích Trạch.)