Verscienta
BL57

Chengshan

Star

承山 (Chéngshān) — Mountain Support

Bladder channel · point 57

Not yet clinically reviewed

Traditionally used for

  • Bowel health
  • Pain & joints

Location

On the back of the lower leg, in the depression formed below the belly of gastrocnemius when the muscle is contracted, about 8 cun below BL40.

How to locate: Ask the patient to point the toes; an inverted V appears where the two heads of the calf muscle meet the Achilles tendon, and the point is at its apex. Alternatively, slide a finger up the back of the Achilles tendon until it drops into this depression, about midway between BL40 and BL60.

Regional anatomy: Skin and subcutaneous tissue, then gastrocnemius where its two heads join the tendon and the underlying soleus, with tibialis posterior deeper; the tibial nerve and posterior tibial vessels run beneath soleus.

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

Body map, back: BL57 · Calf
Fig. — BL57 · Calf After Albinus, 1747
Body map, back: BL57 · Calf

BL57 · Calf · Albinus, Tabulae sceleti et musculorum, 1747

Bones of the leg — Gray's Anatomy plate
Bones of the leg Gray's Anatomy, 1918
Bones of the leg — Gray's Anatomy plate

Bones of the leg · Gray's Anatomy, 1918

3D view

Approximate placement, carried over from our 2D body map onto a single adult male model (BodyParts3D) and checked against the point's location text. Shown on one side of the body. Locate the point on your patient by the location text and palpation, not by this model.

Cun on this part of the body
From the popliteal crease to the prominence of the lateral malleolus: 16 B-cun (WHO 2008, General Guidelines, Proportional Bone (Skeletal) Measurements, p. 13). On the model, the popliteal crease = knee joint line (femoral condyles / tibial plateau).
Needle angle and depth
  1. Perpendicular (90° to the skin), 1–1.5 cun. Deadman P, Al-Khafaji M, Baker K, p. 314
  2. Oblique (45° to the skin), 1–1.5 cun, directed proximally or distally. Deadman P, Al-Khafaji M, Baker K, p. 314

3D anatomy: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science licensed under CC Attribution 4.0 International (licence). Subset, simplified and recoloured by Verscienta — changes and licence details.

Needling

Cited needling

Techniques — the source gives these as alternatives:

  1. Perpendicular insertion
    Depth 1–1.5 cun
    skindeeper
  2. Oblique insertion — directed proximally or distally
    Depth 1–1.5 cun
    skindeeper

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 (1)
  1. Deadman P, Al-Khafaji M, Baker K. A Manual of Acupuncture. Hove: Journal of Chinese Medicine Publications; 1998 — p. 314 Supports: techniques (names this point)

Site notes · not cited

Depth: 1.0–2.0 cun
Angle: Perpendicular

Functions

  • Relaxes the sinews and relieves cramp of the calf
  • Benefits the anus and treats haemorrhoids
  • Activates the channel and relieves lumbar pain

Indications

Cramping of the calf and leghaemorrhoids, anal prolapse and anal painlow back pain and sciaticaconstipationberiberi

Balance Method partners

Under Dr. Tan's six systems, BL57 at the calf balances these channels at the regions its segment images.

  • 1. Same Chinese name
    Small Intestine channel
    Forearm · Mirror (arm ↔ leg)
    Upper arm · Reversed mirror
    Chest, Upper back · Image, head at the hand/foot
    Upper abdomen, Lower back · Image, head toward the elbow/knee
    Solve for the Small Intestine channel →
  • 2. Branching (Bie Jing / Zang Fu Bie Tong)
    Lung channel
    Forearm · Mirror (arm ↔ leg)
    Upper arm · Reversed mirror
    Chest, Upper back · Image, head at the hand/foot
    Upper abdomen, Lower back · Image, head toward the elbow/knee
    Solve for the Lung channel →
  • 3. Interior–exterior pair
    Kidney channel
    Lower leg, Calf · Same segment, opposite side
    Chest, Upper back · Image, head at the hand/foot
    Upper abdomen, Lower back · Image, head toward the elbow/knee
    Solve for the Kidney channel →
  • 4. Chinese clock opposite
    Lung channel
    Forearm · Mirror (arm ↔ leg)
    Upper arm · Reversed mirror
    Chest, Upper back · Image, head at the hand/foot
    Upper abdomen, Lower back · Image, head toward the elbow/knee
    Solve for the Lung channel →
  • 5. Chinese clock neighbour
    Small Intestine channel
    Forearm · Mirror (arm ↔ leg)
    Upper arm · Reversed mirror
    Chest, Upper back · Image, head at the hand/foot
    Upper abdomen, Lower back · Image, head toward the elbow/knee
    Solve for the Small Intestine channel →
  • 6. Same channel
    Bladder channel
    Lower leg, Calf · Same segment, opposite side
    Chest, Upper back · Image, head at the hand/foot
    Upper abdomen, Lower back · Image, head toward the elbow/knee
    Solve for the Bladder channel →

Clinical Notes

The classical point for haemorrhoids — an indication with no obvious local logic, which the Bladder channel's divergent pathway to the anus explains.

Combinations Using This Point

Weizhong and Chengshan

BL40 and BL57 on the back of the leg — for damp-cold joint pain, low back and leg pain, hemiplegia, haemorrhoids and constipation.

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.)

📝 Notes

Public notes from the community and your own private notes on BL57 Chengshan.

No notes yet.

Log in or register to add your own notes.

Back to Points