Skip to main content

Diarrhea acupoints

Here are the points to use

Click through the slideshow to learn the sequence at your own pace, then watch the video.

  • Title
    CV 12
    CV 12

    This point is located on the midline of the abdomen, midway between the umbilicus and the sternocostal angle.

    Run the forefinger along upward the lower margin of the ribcage, into the fleshy depression immediately below the solid bony edge of the sternum. This is the sternocostal angle. Find the midpoint between the sternocostal angle and the umbilicus. Stimulate with one or two fingers.

  • Title
    St 25
    ST 25

    This point is located on the abdomen, halfway between the midline and the outside border of the rectus abdominis muscle (6-pack muscles), at the level of the umbilicus. 

    Locate this spot by drawing an imaginary line down the center of your abdomen and an imaginary line down the outside edge of the rectus abdominis muscle. The point is located between these two points, at the level umbilicus. Apply pressure with one or two fingers. 

  • Title
    St 36
    St 36

    This point is located on the lower leg, four finger widths below the knee, near the outer edge of the shin. 

    Measure four finger widths down from the bottom edge of the knee cap. The point is at this level, one finger width out from the height of the shin bone. 

  • Title
    Sp 9
    Sp 9

    This point is located on the inside of the lower leg just below the knee, in a soft depression in the angle formed just behind the shin bone.

    Run your finger along the top inside boarder of your shin bone towards the back of your knee. There is a fleshy depression below the head of the shin bone, midway between the front and back of your knee, on the inside of the lower leg. This area may feel sensitive; gentle pressure when locating the point is recommended.

  • Title
    Sp 6
    Sp 6

    This point is located on the inside of the lower leg, four finger widths up from the ankle bone. 

    Find the highest point of the inner ankle bone. Measure four  fingers widths up from that high point. The point is located at that level, in line with the ankle bone.

  • Title
    With abdominal cramping: add Liv 3
    Liv 3

    This point is located on the top of the foot in the space between the bones leading up to the first and second toe. 

    Place your finger between the first and second toe. Slide your finger toward the top of the foot, staying between the two bones. The point is located in the space between the two bones, roughly one third of the way between the base of the toes and the ankle.

  • Title
    With fatigue: add Sp 3
    Sp 3

    This point is located on the inside of the foot, in the fleshy depression slightly behind the head of the first metatarsal bone. 

    Moving along the inner edge of the foot from the big toe toward the ankle, slide your finger over the side of the ball of the foot into the small fleshy depression.

Video

Back to GI/nausea sequences

 

Disclosure

The acupoint protocols shared in these materials are general in nature, intended to provide complementary therapeutic support to patients in an easily reproducible format. In contrast, licensed acupuncturists and healthcare providers trained in Chinese Medicine develop individualized acupoint prescriptions through patient assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning based on Chinese Medicine theory. The acupoints used by licensed acupuncturists and Chinese Medicine providers to treat specific symptoms and address the root causes of illness may vary widely from the following protocols, based on the individual.

© 2024 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer. Privacy Statement