Xuehai (SP10): The Inner Thigh Point for Knee Ache and Itchy Skin

Where Xuehai Sits

This point sits on the inner thigh, two proportional units (about three finger-widths) above the inner top corner of the kneecap, on the bulge of the inner thigh muscle, and it is used for an aching inner knee and itchy skin. It belongs to the Spleen channel, which in the traditional map starts at the inner corner of the big toenail. It runs up the inner side of the foot and ankle, climbs the inner side of the shin and knee, and continues up the inner thigh to the abdomen and chest. There are twenty-one stops along it. This is the tenth, the first above the knee.

The old texts place it two proportional units above the inner top corner of the kneecap. Two units is roughly the width of your first three fingers laid side by side. With the knee bent, find the upper edge of the kneecap and follow it to its inner corner. Go straight up the thigh from there, about three finger-widths, and you land on a rounded bulge of muscle on the inner side of the thigh. That bulge is the point's home.

The bulge is the lowest part of the large inner thigh muscle, the inner head of the four-part muscle that straightens the knee. It is shaped like a teardrop and is easy to see on a straightened leg when the thigh is tightened. The Vietnamese handbook describes the spot as lying in the gap between this muscle and the long, thin muscle that crosses the thigh from the hip to the inner knee. It also notes that the skin colour changes there, where the paler inner skin meets the darker front of the thigh.

The skin here is served by branches of the femoral nerve, which carries fibres from the third and fourth lumbar roots in the lower back. The same roots serve the front of the thigh, the knee and the inner side of the shin. The large vein that runs up the inner leg passes nearby, further toward the back of the thigh. Keep the pressure on the muscle bulge, away from any vein you can see.

Why This Spot

The inner thigh muscle above the knee is one of the hardest-working muscles in the leg. It steadies the kneecap every time you stand up, climb a step or walk downhill. When the knee has been sore for a long time, people often stop using it fully, and this muscle is one of the first to weaken and tighten. The result is a tender band right above the inner knee that many people never notice until something presses on it.

It is also easy to reach. You can sit in an ordinary chair and press it with either hand without bending far. The bulge of muscle gives you a clear landmark, and the kneecap gives you a starting point, so the search area is small.

In this tradition the name says what the point was for. It means the sea of blood. Blood in the old medical language is a broad idea. It covers the nourishing of the skin and muscles, the monthly cycle, and the movement of blood through the limbs. The point was described as the place where the Spleen line gathers blood, the way rivers gather in a sea. So teachers used it for complaints they linked with blood: itching and rashes, and a monthly cycle that came early, late or with pain. For the knee, it was valued for a different reason. It lies on the muscle that guards the inner knee.

What the Old Texts Say About Xuehai

In the teaching tradition this point has long carried two separate jobs. The first is the skin. For centuries it has been one of the main points used for itching that will not settle, and for raised, itchy rashes. It is often paired with the outer elbow point for the same complaint. The second is the monthly cycle. The older literature lists it again and again for periods that are irregular, heavy or painful. Over the same centuries it was also known as a point to avoid in pregnancy.

The Vietnamese handbook used in this method, Ngô Trung Triều's Points and Channels of the Human Body (Huyệt vị kinh lạc cơ thể người), lists a bloated belly and an irregular monthly cycle among its uses. It places the point two units straight above the inner edge of the kneecap, at the border of the paler and darker skin. Its quick-finding method takes it above the inner corner of the kneecap, in the hollow between the inner thigh muscle and the long thin muscle that crosses it. It notes that pressing there brings a dull, sore feeling.

A much-repeated teaching method uses the hand as the measure. The person sits with the knee bent. The opposite hand is laid over the kneecap, fingers pointing up the thigh, thumb spread at an angle. The point lies under the tip of the thumb. Modern standard location guides describe the same place: two units above the inner end of the upper edge of the kneecap, on the bulge of the inner thigh muscle. That long agreement proves nothing about how the point works. It shows that, across schools and centuries, people kept finding it in the same place.

Points That Work With Xuehai

The first partner lies on the inner side of the lower leg, on the same line. Find the knob of the inner ankle bone and lay four fingers above it. Where the top finger lands, press into the soft edge of the shin bone. It is commonly used together with this point for complaints the tradition links with blood, and for an aching lower leg. It also carries a pregnancy warning.

The second is below the knee on the outer side. Find the bottom of the kneecap, then come down four finger-widths and move one finger-width out from the front of the shin. It is a classic point for tired, aching legs and is often used with this one for a sore knee.

The third sits on top of the knee. Find the middle of the upper edge of the kneecap and press into the small hollow right above it. In this tradition it is a point for an aching knee, and together with this one it surrounds the top of the kneecap.

How to Find and Press Xuehai

Getting Into Position

Sit on a firm chair with your back supported, feet flat on the floor and the knee bent at about a right angle. Let the thigh rest on the seat and the leg relax. If the muscle is tight, the bulge is harder to feel. You can also sit on the floor or bed with the leg straight and a cushion under the knee.

How to Find It

Start with the hand method. To find the point on the right leg, cup the right kneecap in the palm of your left hand, fingers pointing up the thigh. Spread the thumb out at an angle toward the inner side of the leg. Where the tip of the thumb rests, on the soft bulge of the inner thigh muscle, is your area. For the left leg, use the right hand. As a check, lay three fingers above the inner top corner of the kneecap; the far edge of the third finger should land at about the same height.

Now search inside that area. Use a rounded-tip pressing tool, or the tip of your thumb with the nail cut short. Probe in small steps over the bulge and along its edge, a few millimetres at a time. Most of the muscle will feel firm and dull. One spot will sting: a sharp, pinpoint tenderness. That is the point. It may sit a little higher or further in than the measurement suggests. If you see a vein, stay clear of it.

How to Press It

Stay on the spot that stings and rub it in small circles, no wider than a grain of rice. Let the skin move with the tool rather than sliding the tool over the skin. Aim straight into the muscle, slightly toward the thigh bone.

The thigh muscle is thick, and a rounded-tip tool saves your thumb. If you use your thumb, use the very tip, not the flat pad, and keep the nail short. Rest the other hand on top to steady it. Never use anything sharp, pointed or hot on the inner thigh, where the skin is thin and bruises easily.

How Much Pressure

On this point, sharp under the tool is right. The sting should be clear but bearable, and it should fade within a few seconds of lifting off. If you are holding your breath or tensing the whole leg, ease off a little. Stop if the pain stays after you lift off, if it spreads down into the knee or up the thigh, or if the area turns swollen, hot or red. Stop too for any electric or numb sensation. The inner thigh marks easily, so a bruise the next day means lighter pressure next time.

How Long

One to three minutes per point, on each leg. In the first sessions keep it near one minute a side. As the days go on and the spot becomes less touchy, build up toward two or three minutes. Work both legs, even when only one knee complains. One or two sessions a day is plenty.

When to Do It

A morning session suits a knee that is stiff on getting up. A session after walking, gardening or a long day on your feet suits a knee that aches by the afternoon. If itching is the main complaint, many people choose a short session in the evening, before bed. Do not press in the middle of the night. If an itch or a knee ache wakes you, cool the skin, change position and leave the point until the morning. Working a sharp spot while half-awake is easy to overdo, and it tends to leave you more alert, not less.

What This Won't Do

It will not rebuild a worn knee. Inner knee pain in later life usually comes from wear in the joint, a strained ligament, a torn cartilage pad, or weak thigh muscles that no longer steady the kneecap. Pressing a spot above the knee cannot change the joint. What it can do is ease a tender band of muscle for a while. Regular walking, standing up often, and the strengthening exercises a physiotherapist gives you will do more for the knee over time, and this point sits alongside them as a comfort measure. For itching the same is true. Dry skin, a new soap, a medicine or a skin condition may be the cause, and pressing the thigh will not change that.

It will not replace a diagnosis. A knee that is suddenly hot, red and swollen, especially with fever, needs a doctor the same day. A knee that gives way, locks, or cannot take your weight after a twist or a fall needs to be checked. A calf or thigh that is swollen, hot and painful needs urgent attention, because it can signal a blood clot. Itching with a rash that spreads, blisters or weeps, or with swelling of the face, lips or tongue, needs medical help, and difficulty breathing is an emergency. Bleeding after the menopause, or a cycle that has changed sharply, needs a doctor, not a pressure point.

Safety First

If you are pregnant, skip this one. Skip it too on a knee that is hot and swollen, after recent knee surgery, or while a knee replacement scar is still settling. Do not work over skin that is broken, burned, infected, badly bruised or rashy. If you have varicose veins or have ever had a blood clot in the leg, ask a doctor first, and never press on a bulging vein. If you take blood thinners, bruise easily, have a bleeding disorder, advanced diabetes or reduced feeling in your legs, use lighter pressure and shorter sessions, and talk to your doctor first.

Stop at once if the leg goes numb, if the pain stays after you lift off, or if the area turns swollen, hot or red. For the full list of cautions and the situations where self-applied pressure is not appropriate, read the full safety guide before you begin.

Questions People Ask

Where is the Xuehai (SP10) pressure point? Xuehai (SP10) sits on the inner side of the thigh, about three finger-widths above the inner top corner of the kneecap. Sit with the knee bent and cup the kneecap in the palm of the opposite hand, fingers pointing up the thigh. Where your thumb tip lands on the muscle bulge is the area to search.

Can I press Xuehai if I am pregnant? No. In this tradition the point is listed among those to avoid in pregnancy, so it is left alone. If you are pregnant, skip this one. The other knee points on this site that are not marked with a pregnancy warning are better choices.

How long should I press Xuehai? One to three minutes on each leg. Stay near one minute in the first sessions, then lengthen a little as the days go on. One or two sessions a day is enough. Work both legs, even when only one knee complains.

Can Xuehai (SP10) help with itchy skin? In this tradition it is one of the points most often used for itching and rashes, usually alongside a point at the elbow. It will not remove the cause of an itch. A rash that spreads, blisters, or comes with swelling of the face or lips needs a doctor.

What is Xuehai (SP10) used for, and what does the name mean? In Vietnamese traditional medicine it is commonly used for an aching inner knee and for itchy skin and rashes; the old books also list an irregular monthly cycle. The name means "the Sea of Blood", where the line is said to gather blood the way rivers gather in a sea. In Vietnamese the point is called Huyết Hải. A sharp sting under the tool that fades when you lift off tells you that you are on it.

Why use the opposite hand to find it? Cupping the right knee with the left hand, or the left knee with the right, makes the thumb fall naturally on the inner side of the thigh. It is an old teaching method, quicker than measuring. Use it to find the area, then let the stinging spot show you the exact place.

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: SP10 · Xuehai · The Sea of Blood · Huyết Hải.)