Ti Tou Lift and Support

What does Ti Tou do?

Ti Tou raises sinking qi and lifts prolapsed organs — a modern extra point on the lower abdomen whose name means “Lift and Support”, and the principal point for uterine prolapse.

• Raises sinking qi and lifts prolapsed organs — the defining action, exactly what its name says
• The principal modern point for uterine prolapse — sometimes needled with a specialised technique directing the needle toward REN-2 Qu Gu and lifting, to physically support the uterus
• Regulates qi and alleviates lower abdominal pain and distension; relieves painful periods
• Also used for hernia and other sinking-qi disorders, such as renal ptosis (a dropped kidney)

A “lifting” point, by name and function. In TCM, prolapse and organ ptosis are “sinking of qi” — the qi that should hold organs in place failing — and the treatment is to raise that qi. Ti Tou is the modern point developed specifically for this, most of all for uterine prolapse. It is a modern empirical point, not found in the classical texts.

On the name and its spelling. “Ti Tou” means Lift and Support (提托). The more common transliteration is “Ti Tuo” / “Tituo”; our “Ti Tou” appears to be a variant carried from the legacy site, and the point is also coded both N-CA-4 and EX-CA-3 across catalogues — the underlying point (4 cun lateral to REN-4) is the same across sources. Left as stored, pending owner review.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (extra-point action and translation records; the REN-04 record queried against our own data; the transliteration/code discrepancy retained), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

What is Ti Tou used for?

Ti Tou is used above all for uterine prolapse, and for lower abdominal pain and distension, painful periods, hernia, and other prolapse/sinking-qi disorders.

• Uterine prolapse — its principal use
• Lower abdominal pain and distension
• Dysmenorrhoea (painful periods)
• Hernia; other sinking-qi disorders (e.g. renal ptosis)

Prolapse and the lower abdomen. The prolapse and ptosis entries are the raise-sinking-qi action; the abdominal pain, distension and period pain are the qi-regulating action of a lower-abdominal point. Uterine prolapse is the use it was developed for.

An honest note. Uterine prolapse should be assessed medically — its management (pessaries, pelvic-floor physiotherapy, surgery) is a medical matter, and acupuncture is at most a traditional adjunct. A hernia requires assessment; a hard, painful one is a surgical emergency. Painful periods that are new, worsening or severe warrant assessment. This record documents empirical use only.

How it is combined. With DU-20 Bai Hui and REN-06 Qi Hai (raising sinking qi), ST-36 Zu San Li (tonifying), and SP-06 San Yin Jiao. All held here.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (extra-point indication and action records; the DU-20, REN-06, SP-06 and ST-36 records queried from our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

Where is Ti Tou located?

Ti Tou is on the lower abdomen, four cun out to the side of the midline, level with REN-4 (three cun below the navel).

• On the lower abdomen, 4 cun lateral to the midline
• Level with REN-4 Guan Yuan, the midline point 3 cun below the navel

Found from REN-4 and the 4-cun line. Fix REN-4 on the midline, three cun below the navel; Ti Tou lies 4 cun out to the side at that level. It is a paired point (one each side), over the lower abdomen toward the region of the uterus and ovaries. The 4-cun measurement is consistent across sources despite the name/code variation.

On the name. “Ti Tou” (Ti Tuo) — Lift and Support, as noted above.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (extra-point location and translation records, retained unchanged; the REN-04 record queried from our own data).

• A Manual of Acupuncture (p. 576): On the lower abdomen, 4 cun lateral to the midline, level with Guanyuan REN-4.

How is Ti Tou needled?

Our own record states perpendicular insertion of 0.8–1.2 cun. 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, 0.8–1.2 cun. For prolapse, a specialised technique is described directing the needle toward REN-2 Qu Gu and lifting, to support the uterus — a practitioner-only manoeuvre.
• Moxibustion: applicable, and warming moxa suits the “lifting”/tonifying intent.
• Pregnancy: given its location near the uterus, some sources advise caution or avoidance in pregnancy; treat this as a prudent safety reference rather than a universally stated contraindication, as sources are not consistent.
• Regional anatomy: the lower abdominal wall over the small intestine; the uterus and ovaries lie in the pelvis beneath; the inferior epigastric vessels run in the abdominal wall.

Hazard, stated plainly. The consideration is the organs beneath — bowel, and the uterus (especially in pregnancy). Our record carries no arterial caution at Ti Tou, and it is not among the nine points that do. A practitioner’s point, not one for self-treatment.

What is not claimed. No safe-depth study could be located, and none is borrowed. No case report was located.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (extra-point needling record, retained unchanged; the pregnancy-caution ambiguity disclosed, against our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources; regional anatomy from standard anatomical description.

Is there research on Ti Tou, and what should a reader know?

No trial isolates Ti Tou. Where it appears it is one component of a prolapse protocol, and a study that includes a point in a protocol is not evidence about that point.

What this page can state with confidence. Ti Tou / Ti Tuo (“Lift and Support”, EX-CA-3) is a modern extra point on the lower abdomen (4 cun lateral to the midline, level with REN-4), developed for uterine prolapse and other sinking-qi disorders — its name being its function. Its transliteration (Ti Tou vs Ti Tuo) and code (N-CA-4 vs EX-CA-3) vary across sources; the point itself does not.

A safety note. Uterine prolapse and hernia are matters for medical care; this page records an empirical use and says so.

A note on searching for it. Search under both “Ti Tuo”/“Tituo” and “Ti Tou”, and the codes EX-CA-3 / N-CA-4. Any claim should be checked against what a study actually used.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (extra-point action, indication and location records; the REN-04 record queried, against our own data).