BL60 (Kunlun, “Kunlun”) is the Jing-River point point of the Bladder Meridian. It is located in a depression situated between the most prominent point of the lateral malleolus and the Achilles tendon, level with the malleolus. It expels wind, clears heat, relaxes the sinews, activates the channel, alleviates pain, strengthens the lumbar spine, and facilitates labor.
In a depression situated between the most prominent point of the lateral malleolus and the Achilles tendon, level with the malleolus.
Perpendicular insertion 0.5 to 1.0 cun.
Expels wind, clears heat, relaxes the sinews, activates the channel, alleviates pain, strengthens the lumbar spine, and facilitates labor.
Sudden abdominal fullness, bone pain, lumbar pain, difficult defecation, shoulder pain, back pain, neck pain, dizziness, headache, stiff neck, pain in the lumbar spine as if broken, leg cannot be bent, calf feels knotted, calf feels torn, ankle (Ankle Jue), hemorrhoids, malaria, madness, epilepsy, head and nape pain, yellow eyes, tearing, nasal congestion, nosebleed, pain in the neck, back, lumbar, buttocks, calf, and foot, little finger dysfunction, heart pain radiating to the back, arching of the back, foot and calf swelling, inability to place foot on the ground, coccyx pain, leg qi, convulsions, opisthotonos, swollen and painful genitals, eye pain as if the eyeball is falling out, profuse sweating in malaria, difficult labor, retained placenta, infantile epilepsy, foot and calf pain, inability to walk, foot weakness, inability to wear shoes, foot and heel pain, cholera with muscle spasms, vomiting, corpse-like collapse (shi jue), mania with seeing ghosts, knee swelling, pain in the lumbar region and hips, difficult urination, foot cannot be flexed or extended,a type of foot pain.
Kunlun is a primary distal point for treating pain anywhere along the spine, from the neck down to the coccyx, as well as sciatica and leg pain. Its classical designation as a Jing-River point and its ability to expel wind make it effective for acute conditions like headache, stiff neck, and body aches from external pathogens. It is famously used to promote labor and expel a retained placenta, but this action means it must be used with extreme caution or avoided entirely during a normal pregnancy.
Classical text; the translation was prepared with AI and is not clinical advice.
《黃帝內經》 Huángdì Nèijīng — The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon, c. 2nd–1st c. BCE · jue-bing · Source: Wikisource ↗
厥心痛，與背相控，善瘈，如從後觸其心，傴僂者，腎心痛也，先取京骨、崑崙The text records that for reversal heart pain pulling to the back, with spasms, as if struck from behind, and a bent posture, called kidney heart pain, BL64 and BL60 are needled first.
《備急千金要方》 Bèijí Qiānjīn Yàofāng — Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold for Emergencies, c. 650 · 第三十 · Source: Wikisource ↗
字難若胞衣不出，泄風從頭至足，刺昆侖，入五分，灸三壯，在足外踝後跟骨上The text records that for difficult childbirth or retained placenta, with wind leaking from head to foot, BL60 is needled 0.5 cun with 3 moxa cones; it lies behind the outer ankle above the heel bone.
《子午流注針經》 Zǐwǔ Liúzhù Zhēnjīng — Needling Classic of the Midday-Midnight Flow, Yan Mingguang, c. 1153 · 卷下 · 針經井滎歌訣 · Source: jicheng.tw ↗
崑崙為經外後跟，腰疼腳重更難行，
頭疼吐逆並腹脹，小兒癇搐一齊針This verse records BL60 as the jing (river) point behind the outer heel, needled for lumbar pain with heavy legs making walking hard, headache with vomiting and abdominal distension, and convulsive epilepsy in children.
《千金翼方》 Qiānjīn Yìfāng — Supplement to the Thousand Gold Prescriptions, c. 682 · 卷26 · Source: Wikisource ↗
瘧，多汗腰痛不能俯仰，目如脫，項如拔，崑崙主之The text records that BL60 was used for malaria with much sweating, lumbar pain preventing bending, eyes feeling as if bursting out and a neck as if being pulled.
BL60 is one of 67 points on the Bladder Meridian. Nearby points:
BL60 (Kunlun) is located in a depression situated between the most prominent point of the lateral malleolus and the Achilles tendon, level with the malleolus.
BL60 expels wind, clears heat, relaxes the sinews, activates the channel, alleviates pain, strengthens the lumbar spine, and facilitates labor. Common clinical indications include sudden abdominal fullness, bone pain, lumbar pain, difficult defecation, shoulder pain, back pain, neck pain, dizziness, headache, stiff neck, pain in the lumbar spine as if broken, leg cannot be bent, calf feels knotted, calf feels torn, ankle (Ankle Jue), hemorrhoids, malaria, madness, epilepsy, head and nape pain, yellow eyes, tearing, nasal congestion, nosebleed, pain in the neck, back, lumbar, buttocks, calf, and foot, little finger dysfunction, heart pain radiating to the back, arching of the back, foot and calf swelling, inability to place foot on the ground, coccyx pain, leg qi, convulsions, opisthotonos, swollen and painful genitals, eye pain as if the eyeball is falling out, profuse sweating in malaria, difficult labor, retained placenta, infantile epilepsy, foot and calf pain, inability to walk, foot weakness, inability to wear shoes, foot and heel pain, cholera with muscle spasms, vomiting, corpse-like collapse (shi jue), mania with seeing ghosts, knee swelling, pain in the lumbar region and hips, difficult urination, foot cannot be flexed or extended,a type of foot pain.
Perpendicular insertion 0.5 to 1.0 cun. Caution: Traditionally avoided or used with caution in PREGNANCY (strong qi/blood-moving or labour-promoting action). Needling is forbidden in pregnant women as it can induce labor or cause miscarriage. The Zhen Jiu Da Cheng states, 'for pregnant women,刺之落胎 (needling it causes the fetus to be aborted)'. The Zi Sheng Jing and Zhen Jiu Ju Ying note its use to expel a retained fetus after miscarriage has already begun.
BL60 is a point on the Bladder Meridian (Zú Tài Yáng Páng Guāng Jīng).