This post is part of an ongoing series on acupressure. If you’re jumping in the middle of this series, please check out our video giving a general introduction to acupressure and how to make these points work for you.
Knee pain is very common. The knees are a hinge joint and are only designed to open and close, but the stresses we put on our knees due to sedentary living can often stress them to move in directions they are not supposed to. We’ve talked about ways to keep your knees in good shape before, but if you are having pain here are some acupressure points you can use to help ease it.
I have divided points into two general categories. Use the ones that are the most tender. Click any image for a larger picture.
Points below the knee: Spleen-9, Stomach-36, and Gallbladder-34
Spleen-9 is an easy point to find and very helpful for problems on the inside of the knee. Run your finger along the inside of the shin right up until you feel the bone (the tibia) start to flare out. In the muscle around this area will be a sore point.
Stomach-36 is a great point for immune function as well as knee issues. Measure the span of your hand across from the first knuckle of your pinky finger (see the image). Then feel below the kneecap to find the top of your shin bone (the tibia). From the top of the shin, measure down one hand span and roll off the shin to the outside of the calf to find the point. There is often a small notch or divet in the bone at this point.
To find Gallbladder-34, feel along the outside of the knee to find the head of the fibula. Once you’ve found the highest point of the head of the fibula, roll down to where the bony protrusion ends, and then forward slightly to find a sore point that often radiates downward along the side of the calf.
Points above the knee: Spleen-10 and Stomach-34
Measure the height of the kneecap. Then, from the top of the kneecap, move that same span up along the thigh. From this point on your thigh, Spleen-10 is one kneecap height’s distance in toward the inside of the leg, and Stomach-34 is toward the outside, even with the outer border of the kneecap. There are small depressions in the muscle at each location.
If your pain is felt within the knee joint itself or around the kneecap, acupuncture is a better treatment than acupressure. If that’s the case, or if you can’t make sense of where to find these points, schedule your consultation today and get some relief!
