LIV-09 (Yin Bao) Yin Bladder

What does LIV-09 Yin Bao do?

LIV-09 adjusts menstruation and regulates the lower jiao — an inner-thigh Liver point weighted to the gynaecological and urinary.

• Adjusts menstruation — the gynaecological action, behind its use for irregular periods
• Regulates the lower jiao — the broader action over the bladder, uterus and lower abdomen

A lower-jiao point on the thigh. The Liver channel encircles the genitals and governs the blood in classical thought, and LIV-09, on the inner thigh, carries that lower-jiao and menstrual role — treating the uterus and bladder from the leg. It sits above the knee between two thigh muscles, in the Liver channel’s course up the inner leg toward the groin.

On the name. “Yin Bao” means Yin Bladder or Yin Wrapping — yin the yin (inner, reproductive) aspect, bao a wrapping, sac, or the “bao” that in TCM names both the bladder and the uterus (the bao organs of the lower abdomen). The name marks the point’s connection to the bladder-and-uterus sphere its actions serve.

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

What is LIV-09 Yin Bao used for?

LIV-09 is used for low back and sacral pain, lower abdominal pain, involuntary or retained urination, and irregular menstruation. Our own indication record is reproduced here in full.

• Pain in the lumbosacral (low back and sacrum) region
• Lower abdominal pain
• Enuresis (involuntary urination) and retention of urine
• Irregular menstruation

Lower jiao, front and back. The lower abdominal pain, urinary and menstrual entries are the lower-jiao-and-uterus action; the lumbosacral pain reflects the lower back’s connection to the same region — the bladder and uterus troubles often referring to the low back.

An honest note. Difficulty passing urine, or an inability to, requires prompt medical assessment (acute retention is an emergency). A change in menstrual pattern warrants evaluation. Low back pain that is severe, follows injury, or comes with leg weakness, numbness, or bladder or bowel changes requires urgent assessment. This record documents classical use only.

How it is combined. With LIV-08 Qu Quan at the knee (the Liver’s He-Sea point) and SP-06 San Yin Jiao for the gynaecological and urinary indications, and REN-03 Zhong Ji for the bladder. All held here.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (indication and action records; the LIV-08, REN-03 and SP-06 records queried from our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

Where is LIV-09 Yin Bao located?

LIV-09 is on the inner thigh, four cun above the inner knob of the thigh bone at the knee, between two thigh muscles.

• 4 cun above the medial epicondyle of the femur — the inner bony knob of the thigh bone just above the knee
• Between vastus medialis and sartorius — the groove between the inner quadriceps and the sartorius muscle
• On the inner thigh, in the Liver channel’s course toward the groin

Found by the bony knob and the muscle groove. The medial epicondyle of the femur is felt as the inner knob just above the knee; measuring 4 cun up the inner thigh and settling into the groove between the two muscles fixes LIV-09. The muscle groove appears when the thigh is tensed.

On the name. “Yin Bao” — Yin Bladder, the bladder-and-uterus bao, as noted above.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (location and translation records, retained unchanged; the LIV-08 record queried from our own data).

• A Manual of Acupuncture (p. 486): Directly superior to the medial epicondyle of the femur, 4 cun superior to Ququan LIV-8, in the cleft between m. vastus medialis and m. sartorius.
• Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion (p. 224): 4 cun above the medial epicondyle of the femur, between m. vastus medialis and m. sartorius.

How is LIV-09 Yin Bao needled?

Our own record states perpendicular insertion of 0.5–0.7 inch, with moxibustion applicable. 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, 0.5–0.7 inch, into the thigh.
• Moxibustion: recorded as applicable.
• Regional anatomy: the point lies between vastus medialis and sartorius on the inner thigh; the femoral vessels descend in the adductor canal in this region, deeper and toward the back of the muscle groove; the femur lies deep.

Hazard, stated proportionately. This is a low-hazard point at its recorded depth: no body cavity, no organ. The femoral vessels run in the adductor canal on the inner thigh — deeper than the recorded depth and behind the muscle groove — and our record carries no arterial caution at LIV-09, nor is it among the nine points that do. The modest depth stays clear of the vessels.

What is not claimed. No study measuring a safe depth at LIV-09 could be located, and none is borrowed. No case report naming LIV-09 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 LIV-09, and what should a reader know?

No trial isolates LIV-09. Where the point appears it is one component of a gynaecological or urinary protocol, and a study that includes a point in a protocol is not evidence about that point.

What this page can state with confidence. LIV-09 Yin Bao (“Yin Bladder”) is an inner-thigh Liver point that adjusts menstruation and regulates the lower jiao — its indications spanning the uterus, the bladder and the low back. Its name marks its connection to the bao (bladder-and-uterus) organs. It sits 4 cun above the inner knob of the thigh bone, between vastus medialis and sartorius. It carries no five-shu element and no special classification.

A note on searching for it. “LIV 9”, “LR 9” and “Yinbao” searches return protocol trials and unrelated material. 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 LIV-08 record queried, against our own data).