Liver
LV3
太冲 · Taichong
Great Surge
Top-of-foot source point for stuck qi, stress, and headache.
Yuan-source · Shu-stream · Earth point of the Liver
Use caution
System
- Channel
- Liver (LV)
- Element
- Wood
- Yin or yang
- yin
- Organ system
- Liver
- Region
- Foot
- Limb rule
- Foot Jueyin
Where it is
On the top of the foot, in the hollow between the first and second long bones, about two thumb-widths up from the web.
Nearby: The dorsalis pedis pulse is nearby. If you feel a strong beat, move slightly into the hollow off the pulse. Bones on either side.
Traditionally said to
Yuan-source and shu-stream point of the Liver. Paired with LI4 in the famous “four gates.” Traditionally said to spread liver qi and ease constraint. A separate textbook picture of erectile difficulty is “stuck liver qi,” not weak kidney yang. Some schools prefer not to stimulate it strongly in pregnancy; this app marks it caution rather than a full avoid. Not a treatment for ED.
What people look up
Acupressure
Thumb in the hollow, angled slightly toward the bone of the second toe, 45–90 seconds. Dull ache is expected.
When not to press: In pregnancy use only the lightest touch, or skip. Stop if the foot tingles or you are on the pulse.
About 30–90 seconds is the usual window, unless the step above is shorter. Stop if pain, dizziness, or anything unusual shows up.
Licensed practice only
Needle depth, angle, electroacupuncture
Textbook language for students. Not instructions. A cun is a body-inch on that person, not a ruler inch. Do not needle yourself.
Depth
Common textbook range: about 0.5–1 cun perpendicular.
Angle
Perpendicular or slightly oblique, in the interosseous hollow.
Electroacupuncture
Some pain studies have used low-frequency stimulation on this point, often near 2 Hz or a dense-disperse pattern such as 2/100 Hz, at a gentle muscle twitch. Protocols disagree, and the numbers are not a setting to reproduce. No milliamp dose is listed.
Nearby on this channel
Moving Between
Web between the first and second toes, the fire point of Liver.
Woodworm Canal
Inner shin, the Liver luo point.
Spring at the Crook
Inner knee crease, the sea point of the Liver.
Completion Gate
Below the free rib tip. Influential point of the zang.
Use caution
Herbs often paired for a similar pattern
A study link, not a formula and not a dose.
Bupleurum root
Soothes liver qi and is the shaoyang herb.
White peony root
Softens the liver, nourishes blood, and eases cramping.
Cyperus rhizome
The qi herb most often aimed at the liver and the menstrual cycle.
Szechuan lovage
Moves qi and blood and is the head herb in many pain formulas.
Tags
taichong · liver 3 · four gates · lr3 · erectile