LI-4 Hegu - Joining of the Valleys
More Spirit Names: Great Eliminator, Union Valley, Joining Valley, Adjoining Valleys, Tiger's Mouth, Uniting Bones, Holding Mouth
| English: | Joining Valley |
| Also Known As: | Adjoining Valleys Meeting of the Valleys Joining of the Valleys Tiger's Mouth Closing Valley Harmonious Valleys Grain Valley Union Valley |
Location
- On the dorsum of the hand, between the first and second metacarpal bones, at the midpoint of the second metacarpal bone and close to the radial border.
Ask the patient to squeeze the thumb against the index finger, and locate the point at the highest point of the bulge of the muscle and approximately level with the end of the crease.
Place in coincident position the transverse crease of the interphalangeal joint of the thumb with the margin of the web between the thumb and the index finger of the other hand. The point is where the tip of the thumb touches. - With the thumb and index finger extended and stretched apart, this point can be found slightly to the index finger side of the area between the first and second metacarpal bones.
Needling
- Perpendicular insertion 0.5 to 1 cun
Sensation of local discomfort and soreness - Oblique insertion directed proximally 1 to 1.5 cun
- Slanted insertion along the surface of the second metacarpal, 1 to 1.5 cun for diseases affecting the head
Sensation of soreness, possibly extending to the elbow or shoulder - Join to PC-8 or SI-3 for muscle spasm or paralysis of the fingers.
- Moxibustion is applicable
Command Functions
- Yuan -Source point of the Large Intestine channel
- Gan Wu Command point
- Ma Dan-Yang Heavenly Star point
- Ma Wang Tang Twelve-Star point
- Center Reunion General Point for Yang
- Command point of the face
Actions
- Regulates the Defensive (Wei) Qi (consolidates the Exterior)
- Adjusts sweating
- Reduces fever
- Tonifies Qi
- Facilitates Qi flow
- Expels Wind (Cold, Heat and Dryness)
- Releases the Exterior
- Clears Summerheat
- Stimulates the dispersing function of the Lungs
- Harmonizes ascending and descending
- Regulates the face eyes, nose, mouth and ears
- Activates the channel
- Alleviates pain
- Induces labor
- Restores Yang
- Clears Heat and Fire
- Moistens Dryness
- Transforms Damp-heat
- Transforms Phlegm, Phlegm-Damp, Cold Phlegm and Dry Phlegm
- Generates fluids
- Relieves Stagnation in the Intestines.
- Activates Intestinal function.
- Inhibits peristalsis of the Stomach, relaxes its spasms and pyloric sphincter.
- Treats Interior Wind
Indications
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Combinations
| KI-7 | LI-11 | |
No sweating (reinforce LI-4, reduce KI-7) Copious sweating (reduce LI-4, reinforce KI-7) | High fever of any etiology Diseases of the head, face, mouth, nose, eyes and ears Unilateral Wind rash | Pain, paralysis or atrophy of the upper limbs |
LIV-3 | LI-11 | |
Cold and Heat with painful obstruction Nasal polyps Nasal congestion and discharge Unendurable pain of the arm that radiates to the shoulder and spine | Injury by Cold with anhidrosis (reinforce LI-4 and reduce ST-44 and KI-7) Injury by Cold with sweating (reduce LI-4 and ST-44 and reinforce KI-7) | Injury by Cold with great Heat that does not recede |
PC-1 | DU-20 | |
Headache | One-sided headache Generalized headache | One-sided head Wind |
Head Wind and dizziness | Head Wind with splitting headache and pain in the eye and between the eyebrows | Pain of the head and nape |
Dizziness of vision | Internal eye obstruction | Eye diseases |
Superficial visual obstruction | Loss of voice | Swollen, painful throat |
LU-3 | UB-12 | |
Red eyes Epistaxis | Epistaxis | Rhinitis with clear nasal discharge |
Deafness | Purulent ear sores | Swelling, pain and redness of the ear |
LI-20 | ST-6 | |
Itching and swelling of the face | Swelling of the face and abdomen | Deviation of the mouth and eye |
LU-10 | ||
Sudden mania | Manic raving with fear and fright | Lockjaw following Windstroke |
DU-26 Or | ||
Loss of consciousness from Windstroke | Difficult delivery (reinforce LI-4 and reduce the others) | Absence of lactation |
UB-25 | SP-8 | |
Rectal prolapse | Dysenteric disorder | Acute dysmenorrhea |
GB-20 | PC-6 | LU-7 |
Common Cold | Anesthesia for various purposes | Wind-Cold Attacks the Lungs |
UB-59 | LI-15 | |
Removes poisons and toxins from the mind and body | Acupuncture anesthesia Acupuncture blackout |
- LI-4 + UB-12 + DU-16 + GB-20: Wind-Cold and Wind-Heat; parallels Jing Jie + Fang Feng
- LI-4 + LU-10 + LU-11 + LI-11 + SJ-5: Wind-Heat
- LI-4 + LIV-3: the Four Gates
Contraindications
- Both acupuncture and moxibustion on this point are contraindicated during pregnancy.
Notes
- This is one of the best known and most commonly used acupuncture points.
- This is the most commonly used point for analgesia.
- It is the main point to release the Exterior and expel Wind-Heat.
- This point causes peripheral dilation.
- This point is used for heroin addiction. It is called the opium point.
- This point affects the thyroid.
- It is used for first aid for earache, poisoning, dull pain and acupuncture blackout.
- The combination of LI-4 Hegu and UB-59 Fuyang is known as the Great eliminator especially for mental disorders.
- Eventually bring calmness to the body/mind.
- It is an important revival point.
- It is a Greater Assembly point for the throat and neck.
- This is "the" point for all facial symptoms.
- It has a very powerful force of elimination of toxins, bad thoughts, feces and poisons.
- LI-4 lies at the transition from Yin to Yang, while LIV-3 lies at the transition from Yang to Yin.
Five Elements Spirit Perspective
| Spirit of the Point | Joining of the Valleys is the great eliminator, a wonderful point for clearing out debris, and among the best points for clearing toxins and poisons from body and mind, especially in mental disorders. It is the point that quiets the spirit and brings calmness. It bridges and makes connections: people with a Metal Causative Factor (CF) want to connect but find it difficult and often feel that no one knows them, and this point gives them the ability to speak what they think and feel, so they are able to break through the bridge. It opens the senses and brings clarity, and it ranks among the most important points to know, because it is so important to be able to let go. It spans the gap between what used to be and what is. It nourishes and moves the Qi, a valley for collecting the energy to let go when someone does not know what comes next: pure action of the moment. Where the valleys join, things can pass through. Here the Lung's energy enters the Large Intestine, and receiving and letting go are joined. In Daoism the valley symbolizes emptiness, whose virtue is receptivity to the essential nature of life. The I Ching's hexagram of Modesty says the superior person reduces what is too much and adds to what is too little, weighing things to make them equal; a haughty attitude is a steep mountain worn down by the weather into the valley, and the valley, being low, receives all that erodes into it. |
|---|---|
| Worsley |
Location: On the dorsum of the hand, where the proximal ends of the 1st and 2nd metacarpals come together to form an angle. |
| When to Consider |
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| Combinations |
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| Notes |
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From Class
- LI-4, Du-20, LU-7 for the family: Points to help family members let go. (Lewis)
- LI-4, ST-36, LV-3, SP-10, BL-20: TCM points for weak wei qi/immune weakness; patients can massage them at home. (Yuen)
- LI-4, ST-36, Ren-12 as TCM overlap: LI-4, ST-36, Ren-12 overlap TCM and the nine points: release exterior (LI-4), warm the middle; acupuncture has no astringent points — astringing is a technique. (Yuen)
- SI-1 Shaoze — lack of milk: Ancient prescription: needle the lateral corner of the little-finger nail (SI-1) for lack of milk (also with LI-4 and Ren-17). (Maciocia)
- Ectopic/missed miscarriage: SP-6, SP-10, LI-4, GB-21: When the embryo has died, normally contraindicated points can activate the uterus; post-surgery Yunnan Baiyao, Dan Shen, Yi Mu Cao, Tao Ren reduce scarring. (Lewis)
- Four Gates (LI-4 + LV-3, or LU-1 + LV-14): Outer or inner four gates nudge the body back into its own rhythm; the lung also directs qi and rhythm. (Lewis)
- Full-body protocol: ST-36 to ST-40/42, SP-6/7/8, LV-3, LI-4, ST-25, Ren-12, Ren-6, Ren-17: Earth School 'treat the center' approach; feel ST-36 qi descend to ST-40/42. (Alexander)
- Labor: LV-3, LI-4, ST-36, SP-6: Difficult labor: LI-4 stimulates the uterus, ST-36 moves bowels and qi, SP-6 encourages contractions, plus LV-3 — open the Bao, release the Dai. (Lewis)
- Points to return yang (ST-36, LI-4, GB-30): Give the person a burst of yang — to rally out of a bout with death or into their death. (Shea)
- Uterine cramping in pregnancy: SP-4, PC-6, HT-7 → SP-6 → LI-4: Treat the pattern and relax the uterus with SP-4, PC-6, HT-7; if still cramping add SP-6, then LI-4 — safe only in experienced hands. (Lewis)
- Nine Needles to Return Yang — as death medicine: Three stages: Separation (Du-15, PC-8, PC-6, SP-6); Transition (KI-1, KI-3, Ren-12); Deliverance (GB-30, ST-36 or ST-37, LI-4), giving yang momentum for passage. (Lewis)
- Nine Points to Return Yang (soul-summoning, used counterflow): Used counterflow so souls don't separate before business is done: PC-8, PC-6, SP-6, KI-1, KI-3, Ren-12, GB-30, ST-36, LI-4, from Jing to Qi to Shen. (Lewis)