Quchi and Hegu
Star曲池、合谷 (Qūchí, Hégǔ)
Modern Chinese point-pair (对穴) teaching, as compiled by Guo Changqing and colleagues at the School of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.
Points
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He-Sea point of the Large Intestine; clears heat, expels wind and cools the blood.
Elbow flexed: in the hollow at the outer (radial) end of the cubital crease, midway between LU5 and the lateral epicondyle of the humerus. Insert perpendicularly 1.0–1.5 cun through extensor carpi radialis longus and brevis and brachioradialis, close to the trunk of the radial nerve, to brachialis. Aim for local aching and numbness that radiates up to the shoulder or down to the fingers.
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Yuan-Source point of the Large Intestine; releases the exterior and moves qi to stop pain, especially in the face and head.
On the back of the hand between the first and second metacarpals, level with the middle of the radial side of the second metacarpal. With the thumb and index finger spread, it lies in the web at that level; with them pressed together, it is at the top of the bulge of adductor pollicis. Insert perpendicularly 0.5–1.0 cun through the first dorsal interosseous into adductor pollicis, passing medial to the dorsal venous network of the hand and the deep palmar artery. Aim for local aching and numbness reaching the fingertips. Not to be needled in pregnancy.
- Pregnancy: contraindicated
Needling Safety
Cited hazards for these points. Tick what applies to the patient to see the cautions that follow from it.
No cited needling data yet for LI11. No flag here does not mean no risk.
Treatment Principle
Release the exterior and clear heat; free the collaterals to relieve pain.
Indications
Method
Both points on the same channel are needled perpendicularly — LI11 1.0–1.5 cun with the elbow flexed, LI4 0.5–1.0 cun — seeking a propagated aching numbness toward the shoulder or fingers. The book gives no retention time or moxibustion instructions for this pair.
⚠ Cautions
LI4 is contraindicated in pregnancy (its strong descending, blood-moving action is classically held to promote labour), so the pair is not used for a pregnant patient. LI11 lies close to the radial nerve: stop manipulating once an electric sensation appears.
About
Two points of the Large Intestine channel, at the elbow and the hand, used to release the exterior, clear heat from the head, face and skin, and relieve pain along the arm and in the abdomen.
Rationale
LI4 is the Yuan-Source point and the command point of the face and mouth; LI11 is the He-Sea point, which clears heat and cools the blood. Needling a distal and a proximal point on one yang-ming channel reinforces its movement toward the face, nose, teeth and throat, while the Large Intestine's link with the Lung explains the cough and wheeze, and its fu function the abdominal pain, dysentery and diarrhoea. Heat in the blood reaching the skin accounts for urticaria and itch.
Clinical Notes
The same pair of points recurs across modern Chinese teaching as a general heat-clearing prescription for the upper body and skin. For itching and urticaria it is commonly combined with points that cool the blood; for facial deviation, with local facial points.
Sources
- Guo Changqing (ed.). Acupuncture of Acupoint Combinations: Quick Lookups. Daylesford: Heart Space Publications, 2020 (English edition; © China Science and Technology Press). ISBN 978-0-6489215-5-4. Chapter 4, combination 3.
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