TE-5 - Outer Pass
外关 - Wài guān
Point Region: Forearm
Location & How to Find
Anatomical Location: On the back of the forearm, midway between the two forearm bones (radius and ulna), 2 cun above the wrist crease on the back of the hand. It lies 2 cun above TE-4 and opposite PC-6 on the front of the forearm.
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:
- Find the wrist crease on the back of your hand
- Measure two thumb-widths up the forearm (a little less than three finger-widths)
- The point is in the hollow midway between the two forearm bones
How to Apply Pressure
Once you have located TE-5, use steady, comfortable fingertip pressure between the forearm bones and stop if it hurts or if tingling spreads to your hand. Skip it after recent forearm surgery, with an arm fracture, or over an acute tendon injury.
Traditional Indications
In TCM, this point is traditionally used for:
- Colds
- Deafness
- Elbow pain
- Headaches
- Flu symptoms
- Hearing problems
- Arm pain
- Migraine
- Upper respiratory infections
Related Health Concerns
Related Acupoints
Select a point to see its location, how to find it, and its traditional uses.
Important Precautions
Avoid this point with:
- Recent forearm surgery
- Severe arm fracture
- Acute tendon injury