EXT-37 - Five Tigers

五虎穴 - Wǔ hǔ

Point Region: Thumb

EXT

Extra Points

其他穴位 - Qítā Xuéwèi

Location & How to Find

Anatomical Location: Palmar thumb border, from base to midpoint of proximal phalanx.

Extra points have no international location standard, and Chinese texts number and place some of them differently. This location follows common teaching.

How to Locate:

  1. Look at the palm side of your thumb
  2. Identify five points along the edge of your thumb
  3. Start from the base and work toward the middle of the thumb
  4. These five points along the thumb edge are EXT-37
(Illustration coming soon)

How to Apply Pressure

When you have found EXT-37's points along the palm side of your thumb, massage gently along the edge with a fingertip and stop over inflamed or tender joints. Skip it after a thumb injury, over an infection, or with severe thumb arthritis.

Traditional Indications

In TCM, this point is traditionally used for:

  • Joint pain
  • Toe pain
  • Heel pain
  • Headaches
  • Fibromyalgia

Related Health Concerns

Headache

Select a point to see its location, how to find it, and its traditional uses.

Important Precautions

Avoid this point with:

  • Thumb injury
  • Severe arthritis in thumb
  • Infection on thumb

Take care:

  • Be gentle with arthritic thumbs
  • Avoid excessive pressure on inflamed joints
  • Stop if pain increases