Common Used Methods of Selecting Acupoints in cupping therapy

It is the important step to select correct acupoints, which can assure of an expected result.
1. Selecting acupoints according to natural marks
This is the most common used, the most convenient and the most accurate method, which locate the acupoints by way of the anatomic markers of human body surface.

(1) Fixed marks: it refer to every joint of bones, as well as the prominence and depression parts which is formed by muscle, hair, five sense organs, nails, nipples, fovea umbilicalis and others. For example, we can find the acupoint of yintang between two eye brows. Click here to learn Osteoporosis in TCM.

(2) Moving marks: it refers to marks of the arthrosis, muscles tendons all over the body as well as the interstice, depression, and wrinkles on the skins revealed by body movement.

2. Locating acupoints according to bone-length measurement
It was a scientific method for locating acupoints that is summed up by ancient Chinese from long-term medical practices. The earliest records could be found in a chapter of Coffins Measurement of Bone-length. Bone-length measurement takes bone joints as measurement marks, which measures the length and width of every part, and in this way it converts a standard point through dimension proportion. (Picture 11)

3. Locating acupoints according to figure measurement
Locating acupoints according to the length of the patient’s fingers and taking it as a standard, we call it Fingers Locating Acupoints Measurement, shortened as figure measurement. Because there are certain proportion between the length and width of fingers and other parts, the patient’s own fingers can be used as measurement to locate an acupoint.

(1) Middle finger measurement
When the patient’s middle finger is flexed, the distance between the two medial ends of the creases of the interphalangeal joints is taken as 1 cun, which is used to measure the vertical distance to locate acupoints on the limbs and to measure the horizontal distance to locate the acupoints on the back. Click here to learn Traumatic Arthritis in TCM.

(2) Thumb measurement:
The width of inter-phalangeal joint of patients is 1 cun, which is used for measuring the vertical distance to locate acupoints on the limbs. 

(3) Four finger measurement
The width of the four fingers (index finger, middle finger, ring finger and little finger), folded together at the level of the dorsal skin crease of the proximal inter-phalangeal joint of the middle finger, is taken as 3 cuns. 

4. Facility methods of locating acupoints
It refers as a simple and convenient operational approach of clinical practice. For example, we can locate Fengshi at the middle finger tip when we prolapse our hands naturally; we can naturally cross our two hand’s Hukou at level and at the site of index finger tip touched is the Lieque acupoint.
When we locate acupoints, we should combine the above methods and refer to one other to locate correct acupoint, which will work efficiently.