Taiyuan (LU9): The Wrist Crease Point for an Aching Wrist and Thumb

Where Taiyuan Sits

This point sits on the palm side of the wrist, on the crease, in the small dip on the thumb side, right where you feel the pulse.

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 ninth stop, the last before the line leaves the wrist for the hand.

The old texts place it on the wrist crease, between the small bony knob of the forearm bone on the thumb side (the radial styloid) and the small wrist bone in front of it (the scaphoid), in the depression on the thumb side of the radial artery. You do not need to find the bones. The crease gives you the height, and the pulse gives you the line. The point is right beside the beat, on the side toward the thumb.

Underneath, a firm tendon runs to the base of the thumb on one side of the dip; this tendon pulls the thumb out away from the palm (the abductor pollicis longus). On the other side runs the radial artery, the pulse you feel at the wrist. Deeper lies the joint where the forearm bone meets the small wrist bones. The skin here is served by a fine branch of the radial nerve and a branch of the nerve to the outer forearm, both from the sixth cervical root, the root that serves the thumb.

Why This Spot

On the anatomical side, this dip sits where the thumb's tendons cross the wrist. Every pinch, twist of a lid, turn of a key and grip of a pan handle pulls on them. In later life, the small joints at the base of the thumb and the wrist bones beside them often wear, and the tissue around this corner becomes tender. It is also very easy to reach, sitting at a table with the other hand, which makes it a practical point to press.

In this tradition the point carries several roles. It is the source point of its channel, where the original energy of the line is said to gather and can be reached most easily. It is the stream point, where the flow is described as gathering strength. It is also one of the eight influential points: this one gathers the vessels. In the old pulse reading, the practitioner's fingers rest right here, and the place where the pulse is felt was trusted as a window on the whole body. In Vietnamese practice it is commonly used for pain around the wrist, for a heavy, aching chest, back and shoulder, and for a cough.

The name means a deep pool. The pulse here was pictured as water welling up from a great depth. Its Vietnamese name, Thái Uyên, carries the same picture.

What the Old Texts Say About Taiyuan

The Classic of Difficulties, the Nanjing, written in the Han dynasty, answers its forty-fifth question by naming eight meeting points. For the vessels, it names this one. The Lingshu, the Spiritual Pivot from the same era, lists it as the stream point of the Lung channel in its chapter on root points, and as the source point of the lung in another chapter. Few points have their role written down so early and so clearly.

The Vietnamese handbook of points and channels by Ngo Trung Trieu, published by Hong Duc, lists it for chest pain, back and shoulder pain, pain around the wrist joint, and cough with wheezing. It places the point on the wrist crease, in the dip over the artery on the thumb side, and gives a plain way to find it: the dip behind the thumb mound, on the crease, where the artery beats. That is the method on this page.

The World Health Organization, in its 2008 standard, keeps the same landmarks: on the wrist crease, between the bony knob and the small wrist bone, on the thumb side of the artery. Note the pattern in the old entries. The wrist and thumb entries are what most self-pressers will use it for. The chest and cough entries follow the channel's long tradition and rest on use, not modern trials.

Points That Work With Taiyuan

The first partner sits a little higher on the forearm. Interlace the webs of your thumbs and first fingers; the tip of your top first finger lands on a small groove on the thumb-side edge of the forearm bone. In this tradition that partner is commonly pressed with this one for an aching wrist and a stiff neck.

The second sits on the fleshy mound at the base of the thumb, halfway along the thumb bone, where the pale palm skin meets the darker skin of the back of the hand. It is the next stop on the same line, and the two together are commonly used for an aching base of the thumb.

The third sits on the same crease, in the middle of the wrist, between the two tendons that stand out when you make a fist and bend the wrist. It is used with this one when the whole front of the wrist aches.

How to Find and Press Taiyuan

Getting Into Position

Sit at a table and rest your forearm on it, palm up, with a folded towel under the wrist so the hand tips back slightly. Let the fingers curl loosely. Your working hand comes from the other side, so the tool or thumb tip lands on the thumb edge of the wrist.

How to Find It

Turn the palm up and find the crease where the hand meets the wrist; if there are two, use the one nearer the hand. Rest two fingertips of your other hand on the thumb side of the crease and wait for the pulse. Now move a hair's width toward the thumb, off the beat. Your fingertip finds a small dip between the pulse and the firm tendon at the edge of the wrist. That dip is the area.

Probe it gently with a rounded-tip pressing tool, or the tip of your thumb with the nail cut short. Move slowly in small steps. One spot will sting: a small, sharp, pinpoint tenderness. That spot is the point. If you feel the beat pounding under the tip, you are on the artery; move slightly toward the thumb and lighten your touch.

How to Press It

Keep the tip on the stinging spot and rub in small, light circles, about the size of a fingernail, roughly one each second. Aim the pressure straight into the wrist, angled slightly toward the thumb, away from the pulse. Hold the back of the wrist with the fingers of your working hand to steady it. Keep the tip on the same spot; do not let it slide over the tendon.

How Much Pressure

Use less pressure here than on most points; the wrist has little padding and the artery is close. A small sting under the tip is right. 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, if the hand tingles or goes pale, 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.

How Long

Work each wrist 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 wrists, even when only one 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 wrist and thumb that are stiff on waking. Late afternoon suits the ache that builds after cooking, writing, knitting or gardening. Before bed is a good time too, as part of winding down. Do not press in the middle of the night. If an aching wrist or hand 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 wrist or thumb aches. Common reasons are wear in the joint at the base of the thumb, inflamed tendons on the thumb side of the wrist, an old fracture that left the wrist stiff, and inflammatory arthritis. A point on the wrist crease will not out-argue any of that. Pressing works best alongside the plain things: resting the hand between tasks, thicker handles, a jar opener, a supportive splint at night if your doctor suggests one, and gentle movement.

It will not replace a diagnosis either. A wrist that is suddenly swollen and painful after a fall may be broken, even if you can move it, and needs an X-ray. Hot, swollen, stiff joints in both hands, worse in the morning, need a doctor's assessment. Tingling or numbness in the thumb and first fingers, especially at night, points to a trapped nerve. And though the old books link this point to the chest, chest pain or pressure, breathlessness or a pulse that feels fast and irregular needs medical help, not pressing.

Safety First

Do not press over skin that is broken, burned, infected, badly bruised or rashy. Leave the area alone with a recent fracture or sprain, after wrist surgery until your surgeon agrees, or if you have a fistula or line in that arm for dialysis. Never press hard down onto the pulse. Skip this point if the wrist 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 if the hand tingles, goes numb or changes colour. 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 Taiyuan (LU9) pressure point? Taiyuan (LU9) sits on the palm side of your wrist, on the crease where the hand meets the forearm. Look on the thumb side, where you would feel your pulse. The point is in the small dip there, on the thumb side of the beat. In English it is called the Great Abyss; in Vietnamese, Thái Uyên.

Is it safe to press right on my pulse? Press beside the pulse, not hard down onto it. The artery runs right next to this point, close to the surface. Light pressure in the dip on the thumb side of the beat is fine. If you feel the beat pounding under the tip, move a little toward the thumb and lighten your touch.

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

Can it help an arthritic thumb? The joint at the base of the thumb, which often wears in later life, sits close to this point, a little further toward the hand. In this tradition the point is commonly used for pain around the wrist and thumb. It will not change the joint, but many people find gentle pressing here and on the thumb mound eases the ache.

Is this the point people press for wrist pain from typing? It is one of them. Long hours of gripping a mouse or a pen, or knitting, load the tendons of the thumb side of the wrist. Press gently here, take regular breaks, and if your fingers tingle at night, mention it to your doctor, because that points to a trapped nerve in the middle of the wrist.

Why do the old books call it the meeting place of the vessels? An old classic names it the place where all the vessels gather, and it is the spot where traditional practitioners read the pulse. That reflects tradition, not a medical claim about your circulation. For any concern about your pulse, see your 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: LU9 · Taiyuan · Great Abyss · Thái Uyên.)