Zhigou (TE6): The Back-of-Forearm Point for an Aching Arm and a Sore Side

Where Zhigou Sits

This point sits on the back of the forearm, four finger-widths above the crease on the back of the wrist, midway across the arm, in the soft groove between the two long forearm bones.

The line this point belongs to starts at the tip of the ring finger. It runs over the back of the hand, up the middle of the back of the forearm, past the point of the elbow and up the back of the upper arm to the shoulder. From there it climbs the side of the neck, curls around the back of the ear and ends at the outer end of the eyebrow. Vietnamese and Chinese texts call it the Triple Energizer channel. This is its sixth stop, the first one well clear of the wrist.

The forearm has two long bones. The radius runs down the thumb side, the ulna down the little-finger side. On the back of the forearm there is a groove between them, easiest to feel a hand's width above the wrist. The old texts place this point in that groove, three body inches above the wrist crease. A body inch here is the width of your own thumb at the knuckle, so three of them come to about four finger-widths laid side by side. The World Health Organization standard describes the same spot: the midpoint of the space between the two bones, three units above the crease on the back of the wrist.

Under the skin lie the muscles that straighten the fingers and lift the thumb. They run in a bundle down the back of the forearm, and their bellies are turning into tendons around this level. Deeper still, a thin branch of the radial nerve runs along the membrane that joins the two bones. The skin over the point is served by a branch from the back of the arm, fed from roots in the lower neck. Those muscles work every time you grip a jar, hold a cup, turn a key or type, which is why the area is often tender in people who use their hands all day.

Why This Spot

On the anatomical side, the groove between the two bones is a natural channel. Muscles that work hard all day lie close together here, and the tissue above the bones stays soft enough to press into. You can reach it on yourself with the opposite hand while sitting, with no bending and no stretching. For people with aching wrists, a tired forearm from gardening or knitting, or an elbow that complains after carrying shopping, this is often one of the first places that feels sore when probed.

In this tradition the point carries a particular role. Each channel has five transport points between the fingertips and the elbow, and the old books describe the flow growing larger at each one, like water from a spring becoming a stream and then a river. This point is the river point of its channel, where the flow is described as broad and moving well. Its name says the same. A ditch is a channel cut to carry water, and a branch ditch is one that leads it onward. The texts turn to it when something feels stuck along the side of the body: the ribs, the bowels, the shoulder.

Its Vietnamese name, Chi Câu, carries the same image of a small ditch branching off a larger stream.

What the Old Texts Say About Zhigou

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 river point of the line running up the back of the forearm. That list has been copied, taught and argued over for two thousand years, and the place of this point in it has stayed the same.

The Vietnamese handbook of points and channels by Ngo Trung Trieu, published by Hong Duc, lists it for weakness of the arm, pain of the shoulder and upper back, pain running between the ribs, a sore throat, high fever and constipation. Its location in that book is plain: three body inches above the back of the wrist, in the hollow between the two bones, one body inch above the neighbouring point. The quick way to find it, the book says, is in the gap between the bones on the back of the forearm, three body inches above the hollow at the back of the wrist.

Later teachers in China and Vietnam gave it a steady reputation for two complaints above all. The first is pain along the side of the chest and ribs, where it is paired with the point below the outer knee in rhymes students memorised. The second is sluggish bowels. That reputation comes from long use rather than proof. It tells you that many hands, over many generations, kept coming back to this small groove on the forearm.

Points That Work With Zhigou

The first partner sits one finger-width lower in the same groove, three finger-widths above the crease on the back of the wrist. It is the better-known neighbour, used for a stiff neck and shoulder and an aching wrist. The two are often pressed one after the other, because the tender spot you are looking for can sit anywhere between them.

The second is far away, on the leg. Sit and feel the outer side of your knee. Below the joint is a small, round knob of bone; the point sits in the soft dip in front of and below that knob. In this tradition it is the classic partner for pain along the side of the ribs, the arm point working the top of the side line and the leg point the lower part.

The third sits at the elbow. Bend the arm and look at the outer end of the crease that forms at the inside of the elbow. The point is in the dip at the end of that crease, by the bony bump on the outside. It is used with this one when the ache runs from the forearm up to the elbow.

How to Find and Press Zhigou

Getting Into Position

Sit at a table with your forearm resting on it, palm down, the hand loose. The muscles must be soft, so do not clench the fist or spread the fingers. If the table is too high, rest the forearm on a cushion in your lap. Use your other hand to press.

How to Find It

Find the crease on the back of your wrist, where it bends when you lift the hand. Lay four fingers of your other hand flat across the forearm, the edge of the little finger on that crease. The top edge of your index finger marks the level. Now move to the middle of the forearm, halfway between the thumb side and the little-finger side, and you will feel a soft groove between two firm edges of bone.

Probe that groove with a rounded-tip pressing tool, or the tip of your thumb with the nail cut short. Move in small steps up and down and slightly side to side. Most of it will feel like ordinary muscle. One spot will sting: a small, sharp, pinpoint tenderness. That spot is the point. It may sit a little above or below the measured level, and that is fine. Trust the sting over the ruler.

How to Press It

Keep the tip of the tool or thumb 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 groove between the bones, not onto either bone. Keep the arm still on the table, and keep the tip on the same spot; do not let it slide up and down the forearm.

How Much Pressure

Sharp under the tool 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 the tool, if it spreads, or if the area turns swollen, hot or red, stop and leave it for several days. Stop at once for tingling or numbness running into the hand. If you are holding your breath, or your shoulder is creeping up toward your ear, you are pressing too hard. Ease off until you can breathe slowly through the sting.

How Long

Work each arm for one to three minutes. In the first sessions keep to about one minute, because the point is often most tender at the start. As the days go on, add a little time, up to three minutes. Do both arms, even when only one side aches. Once or twice a day is plenty. Pressing longer does not add benefit; it mostly adds soreness.

When to Do It

Morning suits a forearm and shoulder that are stiff on waking, and it is also the time this point is often used for sluggish bowels, before or after a warm drink. Late afternoon suits an arm that has worked hard, after gardening, cooking, typing or carrying bags. Before bed is a good time too, as part of winding down. Do not press in the middle of the night. If an aching arm or side 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 forearm aches. In people past fifty, forearm and elbow pain usually comes from overused tendons, wear in the neck that irritates the nerves to the arm, or a wrist that has stiffened with age. Pain along the side of the ribs can come from a strained muscle, a cracked rib after a cough or a fall, shingles before the rash appears, or a problem inside the chest or belly. A point on your forearm will not out-argue any of that. Pressing works best alongside the plain things: rest for an overused arm, gentle stretching, better tools and grips, and a doctor's look when the pain does not settle.

It will not replace a diagnosis either. New pain in the chest or side, especially with breathlessness or sweating, needs urgent help, not pressure. A band of burning pain along the ribs, followed by a rash, needs a doctor early. Numbness or weakness in the hand, or a grip that is getting weaker, points to a nerve and needs to be checked. A change in your bowel habit that lasts more than a few weeks, blood in the stool, or weight loss you cannot explain belongs with a doctor, whatever else you try.

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 wrist or forearm, a fresh sprain, unexplained swelling, or a plate or screws under the skin. Skip this point on an arm with a drip line, a fistula, or swelling after lymph nodes were removed, unless your care team says it is safe. If you take blood thinners, bruise easily, have a bleeding disorder, 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 area becomes swollen, hot or red. Stop too for any tingling or numbness running into the fingers. 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 Zhigou (TE6) pressure point? Zhigou (TE6) sits on the back of your forearm, four finger-widths above the crease on the back of the wrist. It lies midway across the forearm, in the soft groove between the two long bones. In English it is called the Branch Ditch; in Vietnamese, Chi Câu.

How is Zhigou (TE6) different from the point one finger below it? The point one finger-width lower, three fingers above the wrist, is Waiguan (TE5), the Outer Gate. Both sit in the same groove on the back of the forearm. Many people press the two one after the other, since one stinging spot often sits between them.

How long should I press Zhigou? One to three minutes on each arm. 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 arms, even if only one side aches.

Is Zhigou used for pain along the side of the ribs? Yes. In this tradition it is one of the points most often chosen for an ache along the side of the chest and ribs, and it is commonly paired with a point below the outer knee. A new, sharp pain in the chest or side, or pain with breathlessness, needs a doctor first, not pressure.

Can it help with constipation? In this tradition it is commonly used for sluggish bowels, and the Vietnamese handbook lists constipation among its uses. It is a gentle support, not a replacement for fluids, fibre, walking and a talk with your doctor if the change is new or lasting.

I feel tingling in my fingers when I press. Is that normal? No. Lift off. A sting under the tip is what you want, nothing that travels. Move a little up or down the groove, press more gently, and the tingling should not return. If it does, leave the point and let your doctor know.

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: TE6 · Zhigou · The Branch Ditch · Chi Câu.)