BL28

Pangguangshu

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膀胱俞 (Pángguāngshū) — Bladder Shu

Bladder channel · point 28

Not yet clinically reviewed

Back-Shu point of the Bladder

Traditionally used for

Bowel health
Urinary & fluids
Pain & joints

Location

On the sacrum, 1.5 cun lateral to the midline, level with the second posterior sacral foramen and BL32.

How to locate: With the patient prone, find the posterior superior iliac spine by palpating about one handbreadth up and out at 45 degrees from the top of the gluteal cleft until a distinct bony ridge is felt, often marked by a skin dimple. It lies level with the second posterior sacral foramen; the point is on that level, 1.5 cun lateral to the median sacral crest, just below and medial to the iliac spine.

Regional anatomy: Skin, subcutaneous tissue and the thoracolumbar aponeurosis, then the sacral origin of erector spinae, at the medial edge of gluteus maximus.

Distances are in cun, a proportional unit — how to measure.

Body map, back: BL28 · Sacrum — Fig. — BL28 · Sacrum After Albinus, 1747

The vertebral column — Gray's Anatomy plate — The vertebral column Gray's Anatomy, 1918

3D view

3D view not available for this point: its position on the 3D model couldn't be checked against its location text, so it is not shown. The 2D maps above show it.

Needling

Cited needling

Pregnancy: contraindicated

Perpendicular insertion

Depth 0.5–1 cun

skindeeper

Traditionally forbidden in pregnancy (at least before 37 weeks). Carr (2015) reviewed the trials and found no objective evidence of harm from needling these points; the prohibition is traditional, not evidence-based.

Depths describe average adult habitus in the cited population, never a single safe number for the patient in front of you. Palpate and adjust.

Sources (3)

Carr DJ. The safety of obstetric acupuncture: forbidden points revisited. Acupunct Med. 2015;33(5):413-419 — Identifying sources of concern and relevant outcomes Supports: pregnancy (names this point)
World Health Organization. Guidelines on basic training and safety in acupuncture. Geneva: WHO; 1999. WHO/EDM/TRM/99.1 — Section II §2.1 (Pregnancy), p. 20 Supports: pregnancy (names this region)
Deadman P, Al-Khafaji M, Baker K. A Manual of Acupuncture. Hove: Journal of Chinese Medicine Publications; 1998 — p. 290 Supports: techniques (names this point)

Site notes · not cited

Depth: 0.8–1.2 cun

Angle: Perpendicular

Functions

Regulates the Bladder and promotes urination
Clears damp-heat from the lower burner
Removes stagnation and dissipates masses in the lower burner
Strengthens the lower back and benefits the legs

Indications

Difficult, painful or frequent urinationretention of urine and enuresisurinary tract infectionsacral and lumbar paindiarrhoea and constipationgenital pain

Combinations Using This Point

Pangguangshu and Shenshu

BL28 with BL23 — the Bladder and Kidney Back-Shu points, used to strengthen the Kidney and lower back, fortify yang and promote urination.

Similar Points

Ranked by shared patterns and conditions

Sanyinjiao how are these connected? Zhongji how are these connected? Sanjiaoshu how are these connected? Yinlingquan how are these connected? Guanyuan how are these connected? Mingmen how are these connected?

Sources

World Health Organization. WHO Standard Acupuncture Point Locations in the Western Pacific Region. Manila: WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific, 2008. (Location.)
Focks C, ed. Atlas of Acupuncture. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier, 2008. (Locating method and actions.)

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