ST-33 - Yin Market

阴市 - Yīn shì

Point Region: Thigh

ST

Stomach Meridian

足阳明胃经 - Zú Yángmíng Wèi Jīng

Location & How to Find

Anatomical Location: On the front and outer side of the thigh, just outside the rectus femoris tendon, 3 cun above the top of the kneecap: midway between ST-32 and the outer corner of the top of the kneecap.

Distances are in cun, a unit that scales with each person's body. As a guide, the width of your thumb at its joint is 1 cun, and your four fingers held together, measured across the middle joints, are 3 cun.

How to Locate:

  1. Find the outer corner of the top edge of your kneecap
  2. Measure four finger-widths up the thigh
  3. The point is just outside the tendon there
ST-33 (Yin Market) acupressure point location: On the front and outer side of the thigh, just outside the rectus femoris tendon, 3 cun above the top of the kneecap: midway between ST-32 and the outer corner of the top of the kneecap.

How to Apply Pressure

When you have located ST-33, use gentle fingertip pressure just outside the thigh tendon and stop if it hurts. Skip it after recent leg surgery, with a severe muscle tear, or during an acute knee injury.

Traditional Indications

In TCM, this point is traditionally used for:

  • Excessive thirst
  • Lower abdominal fullness
  • Cold lumbar pain
  • Knee pain
  • Leg weakness
  • Abdominal bloating
  • Back pain

Related Health Concerns

Lower Back PainCold and Flu OnsetKnee PainFatigueBloating

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

Important Precautions

Avoid this point with:

  • Recent leg surgery
  • Severe muscle tears
  • Acute knee injury