中膂俞 (Zhōnglǚshū) — Mid-Spine Shu
Bladder channel · point 29
Traditionally used for
- Digestion
- Bowel health
- Pain & joints
Location
On the sacrum, 1.5 cun lateral to the midline, level with the third posterior sacral foramen and BL33.
How to locate: With the patient prone, find the L5 spinous process; the next bony prominence below it is the first sacral spinous tubercle. Count down two more tubercles to the third; the third foramen is the depression just under 1 cun lateral to it, and the point is 1.5 cun lateral to the median sacral crest at that level.
Distances are in cun, a proportional unit — how to measure.
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 insertionDepth 0.5–1 cunskindeeper
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. 291 Supports: techniques (names this point)
Site notes · not cited
Functions
- Strengthens the lower back and the Kidneys
- Activates the channel
- Expels cold
- Regulates the lower burner and the intestines
Indications
Similar Points
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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