LI-04 (He Gu) Union Valley

Regulates the defensive Qi and adjusts sweating

Expels wind and releases the exterior

Regulates the face, eyes, nose, mouth and ears

Activates the channel and alleviates pain

Induces labor

Restores the yang

Headache, pain in the neck, redness, swelling and pain of the eye, epistaxis, nasal obstruction, rhinorrhea, toothache, deafness, swelling of the face, sore throat, parotitis, trismus, facial paralysis, febrile diseases with anhidrosis, hidrosis, abdominal pain, dysentery, constipation, amenorrhea, delayed labor, infantile convulsion, pain, weakness and motor impairment of the upper limbs.

Headaches, expels Wind-Cold or Wind-Heat, releases the exterior, and clears the channels

Where is LI-04 located?

• A Manual of Acupuncture (p. 103): On the dorsum of the hand, between the first and second metacarpal bones, at the midpoint of the second metacarpal bone and close to its radial border. <br /><br /> Ask the patient to squeeze the thumb against the base of the index finger, and locate Hegu L.I.-4 at the highest point of the bulge of the muscle and approximately level with the end of the crease.
• Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion (p. 140): On the dorsum of the hand, between the first and second metacarpal bones, approximately in the middle of the second metacarpal bone on the radial side. <br /><br /> Or, 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.

Puncture perpendicularly 0.5-0.8 inch. Moxibustion is applicable.

Acupuncture on this point is contraindicated in pregnant women.