Yanglao (SI6): The Wrist Point for a Stiff Neck, Sore Shoulder and Aching Wrist

Where Yanglao Sits

This point sits on the back of the wrist, in a small groove on the thumb side of the round bony knob at the little-finger edge, about a finger-width above the crease of the wrist.

The line it belongs to begins at the outer corner of the little fingernail. It runs along the little-finger edge of the hand, past the knuckle, over the wrist, and up the back of the forearm along the edge of the outer bone. It then passes the elbow, climbs the back of the upper arm, zigzags across the shoulder blade, and rises up 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 sixth stop, the first point above the wrist.

The landmark is the bony knob you can see and feel on the little-finger side of the back of the wrist. It is the rounded end, the head, of the forearm bone on that side (the ulna). The World Health Organization standard of 2008 places this point in the depression on the thumb side of that knob, one unit above the back crease of the wrist. One unit is roughly the width of your thumb at the knuckle. The Vietnamese handbook by Ngo Trung Trieu gives the classic way to find it: with the hand turned, take the gap where the end of the forearm bone meets the small pointed tip beside it, about one unit above the wrist.

The groove appears and disappears as you turn the forearm. With your palm down, the knob stands up and the groove is hidden. As you turn your palm to face your chest, the forearm bones roll over one another and a small cleft opens on the thumb side of the knob. Tendons that straighten the little finger and steady the wrist run close by. The skin here is served by a back branch of the ulnar nerve, the nerve you feel when you knock your funny bone, and by the nerve of the back of the forearm.

Why This Spot

On the anatomical side, this is one of the most easily found points on the arm. The knob of the wrist is visible on almost everyone, and the groove that opens when you turn the hand is reliable. You can reach it with your own thumb, sitting at a table, with no tool and no stretching. It also sits on a busy part of the wrist. Gripping, typing, carrying shopping bags and turning taps all load the little-finger side of the wrist, and it is often tender in people who use their hands hard.

In this tradition the point carries a particular role. It is the cleft point of its channel, a place where the flow is described as gathering deep in a crevice, like water collecting in a narrow gap. Cleft points are traditionally used for pain that has flared up, and for stiffness along the length of their channel. Because this channel climbs from the little finger to the shoulder blade and the side of the neck, teachers turn to this wrist point for a neck that has seized up and will not turn, and for an aching shoulder and upper arm, as well as for the wrist itself.

What the Old Texts Say About Yanglao

The Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, the Jiayi Jing, compiled by Huangfu Mi in the third century, places the point in a hollow on the bony knob above the wrist, one unit behind the wrist. That description has been copied ever since. The trick of turning the palm toward the chest to open the groove comes from long teaching practice and appears in Vietnamese and Chinese handbooks alike.

The Vietnamese handbook of points and channels by Ngo Trung Trieu, published by Hong Duc, lists it for pain of the wrist, for weakness of the arm, and for dimming or blurred vision. Changes in your eyesight belong with an eye doctor, not with a pressing point, and we do not use the point for them here. What remains is the use most people want: an aching wrist, a sore shoulder and arm, and a stiff neck.

The name deserves a word. Nursing the Aged is the standard translation of the old Chinese name, and Dưỡng Lão in Vietnamese means the same. The old writers saw that this point was useful for the complaints that build up over the years: stiff shoulders, aching arms, dimming eyes. The name records a reputation. It says nothing about who should press it.

In the wider tradition, teachers often press this point while the person slowly turns the head from side to side within comfort. The idea is to work the far end of the line while moving the near end. That practice comes from long use rather than proof, but it is gentle, safe and easy to try.

Points That Work With Yanglao

The first partner sits lower on the same line, on the hand. Make a loose fist and look at the little-finger edge: the point is at the end of the crease, right behind the knuckle of the little finger. In this tradition the two are commonly pressed together for a stiff neck and an aching upper back, one after the other.

The second sits on the back of the forearm. Turn your palm down and find the wrist crease on the back of the wrist. Measure about three finger-widths up the forearm, in the groove between the two bones. It is used with this one when the wrist and forearm ache together, or when the stiffness runs up the side of the neck.

The third sits in the soft web between the thumb and the first finger, on the back of the hand, at the highest point of the muscle when you press thumb and finger together. It is a common partner for pain anywhere in the arm and upper body, and it is easy to press in the same sitting.

How to Find and Press Yanglao

Getting Into Position

Sit at a table and rest your forearm on it, palm down, with the elbow bent and the hand relaxed. Rest the hand on a folded towel if the table is hard. Keep the shoulder down and the fingers loose. Your other hand does the work, so no tool is needed here, though a rounded-tip pressing tool is fine if your thumb is sore or stiff.

How to Find It

With the palm down, look at the little-finger side of the back of the wrist. You will see or feel a round, hard knob. Rest a fingertip of your other hand on the top of it. Keep the fingertip in place and slowly turn your palm to face your chest, as if you were looking at the time on a watch worn on the inside of the wrist. As the forearm rolls, your fingertip slides off the top of the knob into a small groove on its thumb side. That groove is the area.

Now probe the groove with the tip of your thumb, nail cut short, or the rounded tip of a pressing tool. Keep the hand turned toward your chest so the groove stays open. Move in tiny steps. Most of it will feel like ordinary tissue against bone. One spot will sting: a small, sharp, pinpoint tenderness. That spot is the point.

How to Press It

Keep the hand turned toward your chest. Place the thumb tip on the stinging spot and rub in small circles, about the size of a fingernail, roughly one each second. Wrap your fingers around the forearm for leverage. Aim the pressure into the groove, slightly toward the knob, not across the top of the bone. Keep the tip on the same spot; do not let it slide over the knob. If your neck is stiff, you can turn your head slowly from side to side, within comfort, while you press.

How Much Pressure

A sharp sting 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 wrist turns swollen, hot or red, stop and leave it for several days. Stop too for tingling into the little finger, which means you are on a small nerve; move the tip slightly toward the middle of the wrist. If you are holding your breath or your shoulder creeps up, you are pressing too hard.

How Long

Work each wrist for one to three minutes. Keep the first sessions to about one minute. As the days go on, add a little time, up to three minutes. Do both wrists, even when only one side 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 neck and shoulder that are stiff on waking, once you have moved around a little. Through the day it is easy to press at a table, during a break from typing, sewing or gardening, when the wrist starts to ache. Before bed is a good time too, as part of winding down. Do not press in the middle of the night. If a stiff neck or an aching wrist wakes you, pressing then tends to wake you further. Keep the pressing for daytime and the evening.

What This Won't Do

It will not change the reason your wrist aches or your neck is stiff. Wrist pain in later life often comes from arthritis, from an old fracture, from overuse of the hands, or from a pinched nerve at the wrist or elbow. A stiff neck often comes from wear in the neck and the head drifting forward. A point on the wrist cannot argue with any of that. Pressing works best alongside the plain things: resting a sore wrist, a supportive splint at night if your doctor suggests one, gentle hand and wrist exercises, and frequent breaks from gripping.

It will not replace a diagnosis either. A wrist that is painful and swollen after a fall needs an X-ray, because a broken wrist can look like a sprain. A wrist that is suddenly hot, red and swollen needs to be seen. Numbness or tingling in the fingers, especially at night, can mean a trapped nerve and should be checked. A stiff neck after an accident, or with fever and a severe headache, needs urgent care. Any change in your eyesight belongs with an eye doctor.

Safety First

Do not press over skin that is broken, burned, infected, badly bruised or rashy. Leave the area alone with a recent wrist fracture or sprain, recent wrist surgery, a plate or pin under the skin, or a wrist that is hot and swollen. If you have rheumatoid arthritis, press only between flares and lightly. If you take blood thinners, bruise easily, or have reduced feeling in your hands, 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 wrist becomes swollen, hot or red. Stop too for tingling or numbness into the fingers. Nothing here requires you to push through pain. For the full list of cautions, read the full safety guide before you begin.

Questions People Ask

Where is the Yanglao (SI6) pressure point? Yanglao (SI6) sits on the back of your wrist, on the little-finger side. Rest a fingertip on top of the round bony knob there with your palm down, then turn your palm to face your chest. Your fingertip slides into a small groove on the thumb side of the knob. That groove is the point. In English it is called Nursing the Aged; in Vietnamese, Dưỡng Lão.

Why is it called Nursing the Aged? It is the standard translation of the old Chinese name, and the Vietnamese name, Dưỡng Lão, means the same. The old writers used it for the stiffness and aches that tend to build up over the years, in the neck, the shoulder and the wrist. The name describes the point's reputation, not the person pressing it. Anyone with a stiff neck or a sore wrist can use it.

How can a point on the wrist help a stiff neck? In this tradition the wrist and the neck sit on the same line, which runs from the little finger up the back of the arm, across the shoulder blade and up the side of the neck. Teachers often press this wrist point while turning the head slowly within comfort. That reputation comes from long use rather than proof.

How long should I press Yanglao? One to three minutes on each wrist. Start with about a minute, then add a little time over the days, up to three. Once or twice a day is enough. Work both wrists.

Can I press it if my wrist is arthritic? Gently, yes, if the wrist is not hot or swollen at the time. Use light pressure and keep sessions short. If the wrist is in a flare, red, warm and puffy, leave it alone and press a partner point on the hand instead.

I feel tingling into my little finger. What does that mean? A small branch of a nerve to the little finger runs near this spot. Tingling means you are pressing on it. Lift off, move the tip a little toward the middle of the wrist, and press more gently. The sensation you want is a small sting under the tip that fades when you lift off.

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: SI6 · Yanglao · Nursing the Aged · Dưỡng Lão.)