LI 4 Acupuncture Point - He Gu - Large Intestine Meridian

  • Chinese Name He Gu
  • English Name Union Valley

  • Location: In the middle of the 2nd metacarpal bone on the radial side.

  • Precautions: No Moxa, No Needle in Pregnancy.

  • Point Associations:
  • Yuan Source Point
  • Entry Point
  • Command Point for face, nose, mouth & jaw

  • Actions & Effects:
  • Releases the exterior for wind-cold or wind-heat syndromes
  • Strengthens the wei qi, improves immunity
  • Regulates the sweat glands, for excessive sweating tonify LI 4 then disperse KD 7 and vice versa.
  • Any problem on the face - sense organs, mouth, teeth, jaw, toothache, allergies, rhinitis, hay fever, acne, eye problems, etc.
  • Tootache use both LI 4 & ST 44 - LI for the lower jaw & ST for the upper jaw.
  • Headache, especially frontal a/or sinus (yangming area).
  • Chronic Pain
  • Influence the circulation of Qi and Blood - Use the four gates, LI 4 & LV 3 to strongly move the Qi and Blood in the body clearing stagnation and alleviating pain.
  • Promote labor or for retained placenta

  • Large Intestine Meridian Points (20):
    1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

Sources and More Information

The information on our site is drawn from our own lecture notes and clinical experience. The following lecture notes were used within this section:

  • Ferro, Barbara: New England School of Acupuncture, Point Location Lecture Notes
  • Harstein, Rachel: New England School of Acupuncture, Actions & Effects Lecture Notes

For a complete list of valuable resources, see our Acupuncture Theory Resources section. The most recommended texts are below:

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