Small Intestine
SI3
后溪 · Houxi
Back Stream
Edge-of-hand point for the neck and the Du vessel.
Shu-stream · Wood point of Small Intestine · Opens the Du vessel
System
- Channel
- Small Intestine (SI)
- Element
- Fire
- Yin or yang
- yang
- Organ system
- Small Intestine
- Region
- Hand
- Limb rule
- Hand Taiyang
Where it is
On the little-finger edge of the hand, in the crease just behind the knuckle, at the end of the palm. Make a loose fist to see it.
Nearby: The bone of the fifth metacarpal. Press the soft end of the crease, not the knuckle joint.
Traditionally said to
Shu-stream and wood point. Opening point of the Du vessel. A standard point in teaching for neck stiffness and pain along the spine’s yang line.
What people look up
Acupressure
Loose fist, press the crease for 45–90 seconds. You can do this while supporting the neck with the other hand’s rest, not force.
When not to press: Stop if the little finger tingles. Neck pain after injury is not a press-and-see situation.
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, with a loose fist.
Angle
Perpendicular, along the fifth metacarpal.
Electroacupuncture
Introductory charts rarely assign a standard electroacupuncture setting here. Clinics that use current choose frequency and intensity for that person. No milliamp figure is given, because copying one would be misleading.
Nearby on this channel
Lesser Marsh
Little-finger well point, start of the Small Intestine channel.
Use caution
Support the Aged
Wrist cleft that opens when the palm turns inward.
Small Sea
Elbow groove point. Easy to overdo because of the nerve.
Use caution
True Shoulder
Back of the shoulder, just above the armpit crease.
Herbs often paired for a similar pattern
Tags
houxi · neck · du opening · gv