GB-33 (Xi Yang Guan) Knee Yang Joint

What does GB-33 Xi Yang Guan do?

GB-33 relaxes the sinews and benefits the joints, and dispels wind-damp — a local point on the outer side of the knee, named for the knee joint itself.

• Relaxes the sinews and benefits the joints — the sinew-and-joint action, easing tight tendons and stiff knees; the Gall Bladder channel governs the sinews in classical thought
• Dispels wind-damp — clearing the external factors behind achy, obstructed bi knees

A knee point, plainly. Both actions and every indication concern the knee and its tendons — GB-33 is a local point for the outer knee, sitting just above the joint line on the bony prominence of the femur. Its lower neighbour GB-34 Yang Ling Quan, three cun below, is the Hui-Meeting (influential) point of the sinews and the major Gall Bladder point for the knee and tendons; GB-33 is its local partner just above the joint.

“Relaxes the sinews” is the Gall Bladder’s signature. The sinews (tendons and their function) fall under the Gall Bladder and Liver in TCM, and the Gall Bladder channel carries the sinews’ influential point (GB-34). A knee point on this channel that relaxes the sinews — easing the tight, contracted tendons behind a stiff, bent knee — fits that governance directly.

On the name. “Xi Yang Guan” means Knee Yang Joint or Knee Yang Gate — xi the knee, yang the yang (outer) aspect, guan a joint, gate or pass. Literally the yang (lateral) gate of the knee. (Note DU-03 Yao Yang Guan, “Lumbar Yang Gate”, and SI-19’s region carry the same yang guan element elsewhere.)

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (channel, action, location and translation records; the GB-34 record queried against our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

What is GB-33 Xi Yang Guan used for?

GB-33 is used for swelling and pain of the knee, contracture of the tendons behind the knee, and numbness of the leg. Our own indication record is reproduced here in full.

• Swelling and pain of the knee
• Contracture of the tendons in the popliteal fossa (the hollow behind the knee)
• Numbness of the leg

The knee and its tendons. Knee swelling and pain are the joint action; contracture of the tendons behind the knee is the sinew-relaxing action, easing the tight hamstring tendons that hold a knee bent; leg numbness is the channel entry. It is a tightly knee-focused list.

An honest note. A knee that is hot, red, swollen, locked, giving way, or painful after an injury requires medical assessment rather than repeated self-treatment — septic arthritis, a torn meniscus or ligament, and inflammatory arthritis all need diagnosis. New numbness of a leg requires assessment. This record documents classical use only.

How it is combined. With GB-34 Yang Ling Quan just below (the influential point of the sinews) and the knee-eye points ST-35 Du Bi and EX-LE-4 (Nei Xi Yan) for the joint; with GB-31 Feng Shi for the outer thigh. All held here.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (indication and action records; the GB-31, GB-34 and ST-35 records queried from our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

Where is GB-33 Xi Yang Guan located?

GB-33 is on the outer side of the knee, three cun above GB-34, in the hollow just above the bony bump on the outer end of the thigh bone.

• 3 cun above GB-34 Yang Ling Quan (which sits below the knee, in front of and below the head of the fibula)
• Lateral to (on the outer side of) the knee joint
• In the depression above the external (lateral) epicondyle of the femur — the bony bump on the outer end of the thigh bone at the knee

The bony bump is the landmark. The lateral epicondyle of the femur is easily felt on the outer side of the knee; GB-33 sits in the hollow just above it, between it and the tendon behind. Finding GB-34 below the knee and measuring up, or finding the epicondyle directly, both reach the point.

On the name. “Xi Yang Guan” — Knee Yang Joint, the outer gate of the knee, as noted above.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (location and translation records, retained unchanged; the GB-34 record queried from our own data).

• A Manual of Acupuncture (p. 450): On the lateral side of the knee, in the depression above the lateral epicondyle of the femur, between the femur and tendon of biceps femoris.
• Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion (p. 218): 3 cun above Yangliangquan (GB-34), lateral to the knee joint, in the depression above the external epicondyle of femur.

How is GB-33 Xi Yang Guan needled?

Our own record states perpendicular insertion of 0.5–1.0 inch, and lists no moxibustion. What follows is a neutral record of what the reference literature documents. It is not instruction, and this page does not teach technique.

• Angle and depth as recorded: perpendicular, 0.5–1.0 inch, toward the joint hollow.
• Moxibustion: not listed in our record for this point.
• Regional anatomy: the point lies over the lateral epicondyle of the femur at the knee; the iliotibial band passes over the region, and the common fibular (peroneal) nerve runs a little below and behind, near the head of the fibula; the knee joint capsule lies deep.

Hazard, stated proportionately. This is a low-hazard point: no body cavity, no organ, bone close beneath. Our record carries no arterial caution at GB-33, and it is not among the nine points that do. The common fibular nerve winds around the fibular neck a little below (nearer GB-34); at GB-33 itself it is not directly beneath, but the region’s nerves make the sensation carry.

What is not claimed. No study measuring a safe depth at GB-33 could be located, and none is borrowed. No case report naming GB-33 was located.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (needling record, retained unchanged; the nine arterial cautions queried from our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources; regional anatomy from standard anatomical description.

Is there research on GB-33, and what should a reader know?

No trial isolates GB-33. Where the point appears it is one component of a knee protocol, and a study that includes a point in a protocol is not evidence about that point.

What this page can state with confidence. GB-33 Xi Yang Guan (“Knee Yang Joint”) is a local lateral-knee point that relaxes the sinews, benefits the joints and dispels wind-damp — its indications all concerning the knee and its tendons. It sits in the hollow above the outer bony bump of the thigh bone, 3 cun above GB-34, the influential point of the sinews it partners for the knee. It carries no five-shu element and no special classification.

A note on searching for it. “GB 33”, “G 33” and “Xiyangguan” searches return protocol trials and unrelated material — and the yang guan element is shared with other points (e.g. DU-03 Yao Yang Guan). Any claim attached to this point should be checked against what a study actually used.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (action, indication and location records; the GB-34 record queried, against our own data).