Yanggu (SI5): The Outer Wrist Point for an Ache Running Down the Arm

Where Yanggu Sits

This is the fifth stop on the pathway Vietnamese traditional medicine calls the Small Intestine channel. The line is described as climbing from the outer corner of the little fingernail, along the outer edge of the hand and forearm, and over the point of the elbow. From there it crosses the shoulder blade to the base of the neck. Its name translates as the yang valley. In the old vocabulary the yang surfaces of a limb are the outer and back ones, and a valley is the hollow between two bones. So the name says: the dip on the outer side of the wrist.

In anatomical terms the point lies at the back-and-inner side of the wrist. It sits in the dip between two bones. One is a small wrist bone on the little-finger side (the triquetrum). The other is the knob you can feel at the end of the forearm bone on that same side (the ulnar styloid process). That knob is the most obvious landmark here, and the point is in the soft hollow immediately in front of it, toward the hand.

Several structures crowd this small area. The tendon of the muscle that cocks the wrist back (extensor carpi ulnaris) runs across the back of the wrist in its own groove behind the knob. Beneath the hollow lies the cushion of tough tissue between the end of the forearm bone and the wrist bones. It takes load whenever you lean on the heel of your hand or twist a lid. Sensation arrives through a skin branch of the nerve that runs past the funny bone (the ulnar nerve). It carries fibres from nerve roots at the base of the neck (the eighth cervical and first thoracic). This corner of the hand is wired to the base of the neck.

To find it, rest your forearm on a table and roll the hand onto its outer edge, thumb pointing upward. Run the thumb of your other hand along that edge from the base of the little finger toward the elbow. You will pass a small bony flare where the hand bone ends, then a short stretch of small wrist bones, then the prominent knob of the forearm bone. Stop before it. The dip between the small bones and that knob is the spot.

Why This Spot

The physical explanation is straightforward. This is a joint line with almost no muscle over it, so a thumb reaches ligament, joint capsule and bone within a few millimetres. Joint capsules are densely supplied with sensory endings. The corner also carries load constantly. Every time you push up from a chair with the heel of your hand, turn a stiff tap or wring out a cloth, force travels through the junction. It is a quietly hard-working corner of the body, and it stiffens accordingly.

The traditional account is a separate kind of explanation and is offered as one. In this tradition, each channel has a small series of points from the fingertip toward the elbow. They are described with the imagery of water gathering strength: a well at the nail, a spring, a stream, a river, then a sea at the elbow. This point is the river — where the flow is described as running freely along its course rather than welling up or pooling. Points at this stage were reached for when trouble ran along the line rather than sitting in one spot. Examples are an ache travelling from the wrist up the outside of the forearm, or stiffness running from the shoulder into the neck.

What the Old Texts Say About Yanggu

The Spiritual Pivot (Lingshu), the second half of the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic, gives the oldest surviving address. In its chapter on the root and transport points it places the river of this pathway in the depression below the sharp bone. The sharp bone is the pointed knob at the end of the forearm bone on the little-finger side. Find the sharp bone, drop into the hollow below it: two thousand years on, that is still the fastest set of directions anyone has written for this spot.

Huangfu Mi's Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing, third century) was the first ordered, point-by-point manual. It records the uses reported in its era. These include pain and swelling of the wrist that makes turning the hand difficult, and aching along the outer forearm. They also include stiffness of the neck and nape, and ringing in the ears. As with every old list, this records what practitioners reached for, not what happened afterwards.

The Illustrated Manual of the Bronze Man (Tongren Shuxue Zhenjiu Tujing) was compiled by Wang Weiyi in 1026. In 1027 he had two hollow bronze figures cast as a teaching standard. The manual repeats the location almost unchanged: in the depression below the sharp bone on the outer side of the wrist. Dynasties change, the wording is tidied, the bone stays put.

By 1742 the Golden Mirror of Medicine (Yizong Jinjian) had been compiled under Qing imperial order. It taught this point as part of a run of three along the little-finger edge. The run was the end of the palm crease, the dip past the bony flare, and this hollow before the knob. They were to be learned and used together. That is why this page cross-links the way it does.

Points That Work With Yanggu

The end of the palm crease. Close a loose fist and follow the deepest palm crease outward until it runs off the little-finger edge of the hand. That end is the strongest of the three for the lower back and for a neck that will not turn.

The dip past the bony flare. From there, slide toward the wrist until you meet a small hard flare where the hand bone ends. Drop into the dip beyond it. In Vietnamese traditional medicine this one is used for a stiff neck, a sore shoulder and aching finger joints. It sits between the other two, so all three can be worked in a single pass.

The soft dip on the back of the wrist crease. Turn the hand palm-down. Run a fingertip across the crease where hand meets arm until it falls into a soft dip, a little past the middle toward the little-finger side. Commonly used to help ease the wrist joint itself. Pair it with the hollow before the knob when the wrist is the main complaint, one on each side of the joint.

How to Press Yanggu With Your Thumb

Getting Into Position

Sit at a table with both feet on the floor. Lay the working forearm on the table and roll the hand onto its outer edge, thumb uppermost. The little-finger side faces you, and the arm carries no weight of its own. Let the shoulder drop. Bring the other hand over the top or from below — whichever keeps your own wrist in a comfortable line.

How to Find It

Put your pressing thumb on the prominent knob at the little-finger side of the wrist. Now slide your thumb off it toward the hand, a few millimetres, until it drops into a softer hollow. That is the target, roughly the size of a pea.

Press in slowly and let the sensation build. In the right place most people meet a deep, dull, heavy ache, noticeably more tender than the bone on either side. Some report a gritty feeling, like fine sand under the skin. A brief tingle toward the little finger is harmless if it fades when you release. A bright sting means you are on the knob itself or the tendon behind it. A shock that shoots into the fingers and lingers means the nerve is being pressed directly: stop, and press more lightly elsewhere.

How to Press It

Use the pad of your thumb, never the nail. Press inward toward the centre of the wrist, angled slightly toward the hand rather than the elbow, so you settle into the hollow instead of riding up onto the knob. Curl your other fingers loosely around the far side of the wrist.

A steady hold suits this spot best: sink in over two seconds, stay at depth while you breathe out slowly, release over two seconds, pause, repeat. If you prefer movement, use a very small circle, one per second, moving the skin over the bone rather than dragging across the surface. Because this hollow is bounded by bone on two sides, slow down rather than press harder.

How Much Pressure

Find the level where the ache is unmistakable but your voice would stay steady if someone spoke to you. Two tests. First, your breath: if it has gone short, shallow or stopped, ease off until it lengthens. Second, your shoulder: if it has drifted toward your ear, the arm is bracing and pressure has turned into force. Let it fall and start again at roughly half. Around this wrist, err light — the tissue is thin, the bones are close, and heavy pressure buys nothing but tenderness tomorrow.

How Long

Five slow breaths per round, about thirty to forty seconds. Rest for one breath, then repeat, three rounds on that hand, then change sides. Do both wrists even when only one is sore. Roughly four minutes in total. Do not go longer: this corner turns tender quickly.

When to Do It

The best moment is straight after whatever loads your wrists — gardening, chopping, driving, knitting, carrying shopping. Working while the tightness is still fresh is worth more than working hours later. A round in the morning suits people whose wrists are stiffest on waking, and it can be done lying down in the dark if the arm wakes you. Never while driving: pull over or wait.

What This Won't Do

Pressing beside this bone does not repair a joint. Perhaps the cushion of tissue inside the wrist has worn, the cartilage has thinned, or a small bone was broken years ago and settled crookedly. Nothing done with a thumb changes that. What people describe is a loosening of the tightness around the joint and a little more ease in turning the hand afterwards. That is real, and modest, and not the same as a solution. It also does not replace the wrist exercises or the splint a physiotherapist or doctor may have given you.

Several things here belong squarely with a doctor. A wrist that is hot, red, swollen and sore to touch may be infected or inflamed and needs to be seen quickly, not pressed. Pain after a fall onto an outstretched hand can mean a fracture even when you can still move the wrist. Numbness, tingling or weakness in the little and ring fingers should be examined. This is especially so if it wakes you, or you have started dropping cups. It suggests the nerve is being compressed at the elbow or wrist. Ringing in the ears that is new, one-sided, or comes with a change in hearing or with dizziness needs a doctor. Do not handle it at the wrist, whatever the old books list. And neck stiffness arriving with fever, a severe headache or a rash needs urgent medical attention, not a hand routine.

Safety First

Keep away from skin that is broken, burned, infected or inflamed, from a recent scar, and from any joint that is hot and swollen. If the wrist has been sprained or fractured, do not press it until your doctor says the bone and ligaments have settled; work the other hand meanwhile. If you take blood-thinning medication or bruise easily, use the lightest pressure that produces any sensation, and stop at the first mark. If pressing produces a shock or lasting numbness in the fingers, stop and mention it to your doctor. This point is not on the list of places to avoid during pregnancy, but if you are pregnant, ask your midwife or doctor first.

This is general wellness education, not medical advice. It is not a substitute for care from your doctor. If you have a medical condition, are pregnant, or take medication, check with your doctor first. Keep taking exactly what your doctor prescribed. This is something you do in addition, never instead. Before you begin, read the full safety guide.

Questions People Ask

Where is the Yanggu (SI5) pressure point? Yanggu (SI5) is on the little-finger side of your wrist, in the soft hollow right before the knobby end of the forearm bone, toward the hand. Find the knob with your thumb, then slide off it a few millimetres until your thumb sinks into the hollow. It is beside the bone, never on it.

How long should I press Yanggu? Hold for five slow breaths, about thirty to forty seconds. Rest for one breath, then repeat for three rounds on that wrist before changing sides. Allow about four minutes in total. Do not go longer, because this corner turns tender quickly.

Is this the knobby bone itself, or beside it? Beside it, never on it. The knob is the end of the forearm bone and has almost no padding, so pressing straight onto it is uncomfortable without being useful. The point is in the soft hollow on the hand side of that knob, where your thumb sinks a little instead of stopping dead.

My wrist clicks and aches when I turn a door handle. Will this help? It may ease the tightness around the joint for a while, and it is reasonable to try on a calm day. But a wrist that clicks and hurts with twisting deserves a proper look, especially if it followed a fall or a wrench. Ask your doctor before you settle for managing it at home.

Does it matter whether my palm faces up or down? Turn your hand so the little-finger edge points at the ceiling and the thumb is uppermost — that presents the hollow cleanly. Palm flat on the table hides it under the wrist; palm facing up puts you on the wrong face entirely.

Can I press this when my wrist is already sore? Only if the soreness is the dull, stiff kind and the joint is cool to touch. If the wrist is hot, swollen, red, or painful to move in any direction, leave it completely alone and see your doctor. Working the other hand is always allowed.

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: SI5 · Yanggu · Dương Cốc.)