Bingfeng (SI12): The Top-of-the-Shoulder-Blade Point for a Stiff Shoulder

Where Bingfeng Sits

This point sits on the top part of the shoulder blade, in the hollow right above the bony ridge that crosses the blade, in line with the middle of the blade.

The line it belongs to begins at the outer corner of the little fingernail. It runs along the little-finger edge of the hand, up the back of the forearm and upper arm, then zigzags across the shoulder blade before climbing the side of the neck to the cheek and the front of the ear. Vietnamese and Chinese texts call it the Small Intestine channel. This is its twelfth stop. After the point in the middle of the blade, the line turns upward, and this is where it crosses the ridge.

The old texts place it in the supraspinous fossa, the shallow bowl on the upper part of the shoulder blade, directly above the point in the middle of the blade. The spine of the scapula is the bony ridge that runs across the back of the shoulder blade, from near the spine out to the tip of the shoulder. Above the ridge, the blade forms a hollow filled with muscle. Find the middle of the ridge, slide up off it, and your fingertip sinks into that hollow.

Underneath, two muscles lie stacked. On top is the trapezius, the broad muscle that shrugs and steadies the shoulder. It is supplied by the accessory nerve, which runs down from the skull. Beneath it, filling the bowl, is the supraspinatus, the rotator cuff muscle that starts lifting the arm out to the side. It is supplied by the suprascapular nerve, which reaches it through a notch at the top of the blade. The skin over the point is served by branches from the fourth cervical root, which also cover the top of the shoulder.

Why This Spot

On the anatomical side, this is where the shoulder starts every reach. The muscle in the bowl begins each movement that lifts the arm away from the body, and its tendon passes through a narrow space under the bony tip of the shoulder. With age, that tendon wears, and the muscle above it often tightens and grows tender. Add hours of shrugged shoulders from worry, cold or a desk that is too high, and the hollow above the ridge becomes a common sore spot.

In this tradition the point is described as a meeting place of several channels that cross the top of the shoulder. Its name, Grasping the Wind, reflects an old idea: that cold wind settles into the shoulder and makes it stiff, and that this hollow is where it can be caught and released. That is why the old books turn to it for shoulders that ache with cold weather, an arm that will not lift, and a heavy feeling down the arm.

Its Vietnamese name, Bỉnh Phong, carries the same picture of holding or catching the wind.

What the Old Texts Say About Bingfeng

The Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, the Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing compiled by Huangfu Mi in the third century, places this point above the shoulder blade, in the hollow found when the arm is raised. The same work names it as a crossing point of several channels on the shoulder. Later texts kept that location, and the World Health Organization, in its 2008 standard, describes it as the centre of the bowl above the ridge, directly above the point in the middle of the blade.

The Vietnamese handbook of points and channels by Ngo Trung Trieu, published by Hong Duc, lists it for pain in the shoulder joint, pain across the shoulder blade, and an aching, numb feeling in the arm. Its quick method for finding it is practical: lift the arm, and take the point in the hollow above the ridge, level with the thickest part of the ridge. The book also places it between two neighbouring points, one at the outer end of the bony shoulder and one near the inner top corner of the blade.

Teachers in this tradition reach for it when a shoulder aches in the cold, when the arm will not rise past the level of the shoulder, or when the ache runs from the top of the blade down into the arm. That reputation rests on long use rather than modern trials. It still tells you what many hands, over many years, have found sore in a stiff shoulder.

Points That Work With Bingfeng

The first partner sits directly below this one, on the other side of the ridge. Picture a line from the middle of the ridge down to the blade's bottom tip; that partner lies about a third of the way down, in the soft hollow in the middle of the blade. In this tradition the two are commonly pressed together for an aching shoulder blade.

The second sits on the top of the shoulder, halfway between the bump at the base of the neck and the bony point at the outer end of the shoulder. Pinch the thick muscle there between thumb and fingers to find it. It is used with this one when stiffness spreads into the neck. If you are pregnant, skip that partner.

The third sits at the back of the shoulder, straight up from the back crease of the armpit, in the hollow under the bony ridge. It is used with this one when the ache sits more toward the arm.

How to Find and Press Bingfeng

Getting Into Position

Sit upright on a firm chair. Rest the forearm of the sore side on your lap so the shoulder muscles go soft. Reach over the front of that shoulder with your other hand. If that reach is uncomfortable, stand with your back to a smooth wall and place a tennis ball between the wall and the top of the shoulder blade, or use a long-handled rounded tool.

How to Find It

Curl your fingers over the top of the opposite shoulder and walk them down the back of the shoulder blade until you meet a hard ridge running across it. Follow the ridge to its middle, about halfway between the spine and the tip of the shoulder. Slide your fingertip up off the ridge and it sinks into a soft, muscular hollow. Lifting the arm briefly can make the hollow easier to feel.

Now probe the hollow with a rounded-tip tool, or the very tip of your middle finger with the nail cut short. Move slowly in small steps. Most of it will feel like ordinary firm muscle. One spot will sting: a small, sharp, pinpoint tenderness. That spot is the point. A dull ache spreading a little toward the shoulder is common; an electric jolt down the arm is not, so lift off and move.

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 down into the hollow, toward the bone of the blade. Keep the tip on the same spot; do not let it slide onto the ridge. With a ball, lean in gently and let small bends of the knees roll the ball in place.

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. If you are holding your breath, or your shoulder has risen toward your ear, you are pressing too hard. Ease off until you can breathe slowly through the sting.

How Long

Work each side for one to three minutes. In the first sessions keep to about one minute, because the point is often tender at the start. As the days go on, add a little time, up to three minutes. Do both sides, 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 shoulder that is stiff on waking or after a cold night. Late afternoon suits the ache that builds after reaching, lifting or sitting at a table. Before bed is a good time too, as part of winding down. Do not press in the middle of the night. If an aching shoulder wakes you, pressing then tends to wake you further. Keep the pressing for the day and the evening, and keep the shoulder covered and warm at night.

What This Won't Do

It will not change the reason your shoulder hurts. The usual reasons are wear in the tendon under the shoulder tip, a partial tear in the rotator cuff, a stiffened joint, or a neck that irritates the nerves running to the arm. A point above the shoulder blade will not out-argue any of that. Pressing works best alongside the plain things: gentle daily movement, exercises from a physiotherapist, not sleeping on the sore side, and lifting with the arm close to your body.

It will not replace a diagnosis either. An arm you suddenly cannot lift after a fall or a heavy pull may have a torn tendon and needs to be seen. Shoulder pain with chest pressure, breathlessness or sweating needs emergency help. Numbness, tingling or weakness that runs into the hand, or a grip that is getting weaker, points to the neck or a trapped nerve and needs a doctor's check. Pain that worsens week on week, or comes with a fever or weight loss you cannot explain, belongs with a doctor.

Safety First

Do not press over skin that is broken, burned, infected, badly bruised or rashy. Leave the area alone with a recent fracture of the collarbone or shoulder blade, a recent dislocation, or after shoulder surgery until your surgeon agrees. Skip this point if the shoulder is hot and swollen. If you take blood thinners, bruise easily, have a bleeding disorder, or have fragile bones, 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 running into the arm. 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 Bingfeng (SI12) pressure point? Bingfeng (SI12) sits on the top part of your shoulder blade. Find the bony ridge that crosses the blade from near the spine to the tip of the shoulder. In line with the middle of the blade, the point is in the soft hollow right above that ridge. In English it is called Grasping the Wind; in Vietnamese, Bỉnh Phong.

Can I reach Bingfeng with my own hand? Many people can. Reach over the front of the opposite shoulder and curl your fingers down onto the top of the shoulder blade; the tip of the middle finger usually lands near the hollow. If that reach strains your good shoulder, use a long-handled rounded tool or lean onto a tennis ball against the wall.

How long should I press Bingfeng? One to three minutes on each side. Start with about a minute, then add a little time over the days, up to three. Once or twice a day is plenty. Work both sides, even if only one aches.

Why does the hollow open when I lift my arm? Raising the arm swings the shoulder blade and tightens the muscle above the ridge, so the hollow becomes easier to feel. The old Vietnamese handbook gives the same tip. Find the spot with the arm raised if that helps, then lower the arm and press with the muscles relaxed.

Is this the same as the point in the middle of the shoulder blade? No. That one sits below the bony ridge, in the flat middle of the blade. This one sits above the ridge, almost straight over it. The two are close partners and are often pressed one after the other.

Can it help when my arm feels heavy or numb? In this tradition it is commonly used for an aching shoulder with a heavy, numb feeling down the arm. But numbness or weakness that lasts, or that spreads into the fingers, often comes from the neck and needs a doctor's check before you rely on 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: SI12 · Bingfeng · Grasping the Wind · Bỉnh Phong.)