Neiting (ST44): The Toe-Web Point for a Sore Top of the Foot and Aching Gums

Where Neiting Sits

This point sits on the top of the foot, in the web between the second and third toes, right behind the edge of the web, where the paler skin of the sole meets the skin of the top of the foot.

The line this point belongs to is the longest on the front of the body. It starts under the eye, runs down past the upper gums and the corner of the mouth, down the neck, over the chest and belly, down the front of the thigh and shin, across the front of the ankle and over the top of the foot. It ends at the outer corner of the nail of the second toe. Vietnamese and Chinese texts call it the Stomach channel. This is its forty-fourth stop, the next to last.

The World Health Organization standard places it on the top of the foot, between the second and third toes, behind the edge of the web, at the border between the red and white flesh. That old phrase describes the line where the darker, thinner skin of the top of the foot meets the paler, thicker skin of the sole. On most feet you can see it along the edge of the toes. No measuring is needed. The web and that skin line are the landmarks.

Underneath lie the small muscles that sit between the long bones of the foot and spread and steady the toes. The rounded heads of the second and third long foot bones sit a little behind the point, and you can feel them as two knuckles when you press the forefoot. Small arteries and nerves run along each side of every toe. The skin here is served by a branch of the nerve that spreads across the top of the foot, fed from the fifth lumbar root. Skin near the toes is thin and well supplied with nerves, which is why a small press here can feel sharp.

Why This Spot

On the anatomical side, this web is where the forefoot takes your weight as you push off. The heads of the middle foot bones carry much of that load, and the tissue between them can turn sore in people who walk a lot on hard floors, wear narrow or thin-soled shoes, or have lost some of the fat pad under the ball of the foot with age. The top of the foot also swells easily at the end of the day, and this web is often where that puffiness feels tight and tender.

In this tradition the point is the spring point of its channel. Each channel has five transport points between the toes and the knee, and the old books describe the flow growing at each one, like water from a trickle at the tip to a spring, a stream and a river. Spring points are described as places where heat gathers, so they are used when the complaint is hot: red, sore gums, a burning stomach, a fever, a hot, swollen foot. Because the same line runs past the upper gums, this point became one of the best-known foot points for aching teeth.

The name, Inner Courtyard, is often read as the space between the toes, a sheltered yard inside the gate of the foot. Its Vietnamese name, Nội Đình, means the same.

What the Old Texts Say About Neiting

The Lingshu, the Spiritual Pivot, a Han-dynasty text, lists the transport points of each channel in its second chapter. This point appears there as the spring point of the Stomach channel, in the web between the second and third toes. Its place has not changed since.

Its fame grew in a later verse. Ma Danyang, a Daoist teacher of the Jin dynasty, is credited with a song naming twelve points he trusted above all others, a set later printed in the Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion of 1601. This small toe web is one of the twelve. The verse links it to cold feet and hands, itchy skin rashes, a sore throat, aching teeth and a stomach that will not take food. Students memorised the song, which is how a point in a toe web became known to every practitioner in the tradition.

The Vietnamese handbook of points and channels by Ngo Trung Trieu, published by Hong Duc, traces the channel over the top of the foot to the outer corner of the second toenail. Its printed blocks do not describe this point separately, and the location used here follows the World Health Organization standard. That reputation for teeth, gums and a hot stomach comes from long use rather than proof. It tells you the point was trusted by many hands, over many generations.

Points That Work With Neiting

The first partner is on the hand. Bring the thumb and index finger together; the highest point of the muscle bulge in the web between them is the spot. In this tradition the hand web and this toe web are a classic pair for aching teeth and gums, the hand point for the face and the foot point for the line that runs past the upper teeth.

The second sits on the top of the foot, between the big toe and the second toe. Run your fingertip back from that web along the groove between the two long bones until it stops in a dip where the bones meet. It is used with this one when the whole top of the foot aches, and for a tense, hot temper in this tradition.

The third is a set of eight small points, one in each web between the toes on both feet, right behind the edge of the web. This point sits among them. They are used together when all the toes feel swollen, stiff or cold, worked one web at a time.

How to Find and Press Neiting

Getting Into Position

Sit on a firm chair and rest the foot on a stool or a second chair in front of you, so the top of the foot faces up. Or sit and cross the ankle over the other knee. If bending is hard, use a rounded-tip tool with a long handle, or a smooth stick. The toes must be relaxed, not curled.

How to Find It

Count out from the big toe: the second toe, then the third. Slide a fingertip into the gap between them, then draw it back a little onto the top of the foot, right behind the edge of the web. You are on the line where the paler skin of the sole folds up to meet the top of the foot.

Probe there with a rounded-tip pressing tool, or the tip of your thumb with the nail cut short. Move in very small steps; this area is tiny. Most of it will feel like thin skin over soft tissue. One spot will sting: a small, sharp, pinpoint tenderness. That spot is the point. If you feel burning or tingling running into the toes, lift off and press more gently.

How to Press It

Keep the tip of the tool or thumb on the stinging spot and rub in small circles, smaller than a fingernail, roughly one each second. Aim the pressure slightly back, toward the ankle, rather than straight down onto the bones. Hold the toes still with your other hand. Keep the tip on the same spot; do not let it slide into the gap between the toes.

How Much Pressure

Sharp under the tool is right. That small sting tells you that you are on the point. The skin here is thin, so it takes far less force than the shin or the calf. The test is what happens when you lift off: the sting should fade within moments. If the pain stays after you lift the tool, if it spreads, or if the toes turn swollen, hot or red, stop and leave it for several days. Stop at once for burning or numbness in the toes. If you are holding your breath, you are pressing too hard.

How Long

Work each foot for one to three minutes. In the first sessions keep to about one minute, because toe webs are often tender at the start. As the days go on, add a little time, up to three minutes. Do both feet. Once or twice a day is plenty. Pressing longer does not add benefit; it mostly adds soreness.

When to Do It

Morning suits a foot that is stiff on the first steps out of bed. Late afternoon suits a foot that has swollen and tightened after a day on your feet, or a sour, burning stomach after a meal. Before bed is a good time too, as part of winding down, with the feet raised afterwards. Do not press in the middle of the night. If a sore foot or aching tooth 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 remove the reason your foot or your teeth hurt. Pain on the top of the foot in people past fifty often comes from wear in the small joints, from a stress crack in one of the long foot bones, from shoes that press, from gout, or from a pinched nerve between the toes. Aching teeth come from decay, gum disease, a cracked tooth or an infection, none of which a toe web can reach. A burning stomach can come from reflux, an ulcer or the medicines you take for joint pain. Pressing works best alongside the plain things: roomy, supportive shoes, regular dental care, and a talk with your doctor about the stomach.

It will not replace a diagnosis either. A toothache with a swollen face, fever or a bad taste needs a dentist quickly. A foot that is suddenly hot, red and very painful, especially at a toe joint, may be gout or an infection and needs to be seen. A sore spot on top of the foot that hurts more with every step may be a stress crack. Indigestion that is new after fifty, comes with trouble swallowing, black stools or weight loss you cannot explain, belongs with a doctor, not a pressure point.

Safety First

Do not press over skin that is broken, burned, infected, badly bruised or rashy, and do not press into a crack, corn or fungal infection between the toes. Leave the area alone with a recent fracture, unexplained swelling, or after foot surgery. If you take blood thinners, bruise easily, have a bleeding disorder, have poor circulation in your feet, or have reduced feeling in your feet, use lighter pressure, keep sessions short, check the skin afterwards, 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 burning, tingling or numbness in the toes. 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 Neiting (ST44) pressure point? Neiting (ST44) sits on the top of your foot, in the web between the second and third toes, right behind the edge of the web. Slide a fingertip into the gap between those toes, then move it back a little onto the top of the foot. In English it is called the Inner Courtyard; in Vietnamese, Nội Đình.

Can pressing Neiting (ST44) help a toothache? In this tradition it is one of the points most often used for aching teeth and gums, and it is commonly paired with the point in the web of the hand. It is something to do while you wait for the dentist, not instead of seeing one. A swollen face, fever, or pus at the gum needs a dentist or doctor quickly.

Why would a foot point help the stomach or the teeth? The line this point belongs to runs from under the eye, past the upper gums, down the front of the body to this toe web. In this tradition, points near the end of a channel are used for complaints far up the same line. It is a traditional explanation, not a proven one.

How long should I press Neiting? One to three minutes on each foot. Keep the first sessions to about a minute, then add a little as the days go on, up to three. Once or twice a day is enough. Work both feet.

I cannot reach my toes. What can I do? Rest the foot on a chair in front of you, or sit and cross the ankle over the other knee. If bending is still hard, use a rounded-tip tool with a long handle, or a smooth stick, and press from where you sit.

My toes burn and go numb between them. Should I press here? Not hard, and not without a check first. Burning, tingling or numbness between the toes, especially when you walk, can come from a pinched nerve in the forefoot. Let a doctor or podiatrist look at it. Light pressure is fine once they have, if it does not set off the burning.

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: ST44 · Neiting · The Inner Courtyard · Nội Đình.)