Bladder Channel
Orderly Edge
秩边Zhì BiānAnatomical location
In the sacral region, 3 cun lateral to the midline, at the level of the fourth posterior sacral foramen (S4).
Main function
Strengthens the lumbar and sacral region, regulates urination, relieves pain, benefits the urogenital system.
Therapeutic indications
- Low back pain
- sciatica
- dysuria
- hemorrhoids
- genital pain
- impotence
- leukorrhea
- Sacral low back pain
- Lower-limb paralysis
- Urinary retention
- Constipation
Name and classical tradition
Zhibian, 秩边, is the “edge of order.” 秩 means order, sequence, rank; 边 (邊) is the edge, the margin. The usual reading is positional: the point marks the lower end of the outer line of the channel on the back, the orderly end of the series before passing to the buttock and thigh. The reading is reasonable and straightforward.
The Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing (Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion) locates it below the twenty-first vertebra, three cun to each side, in a depression, at the level of BL30, the last Shu point of the inner line. An entry in the Zhenjiu Dacheng (Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion) is also mentioned, but its text has not been recovered. In modern practice it is a widely used point for sciatica.
