DU1 (Changqiang, “Long Strong”) is the Luo-Connecting point of the Governing Vessel point of the Governing Vessel Meridian. It is located on the midline, in the depression located between the tip of the coccyx and the anus. The point is located with the patient in a prone or knee-chest position. It regulates the lower orifices, treats hemorrhoids and prolapse, calms the spirit, activates the channel and alleviates pain, clears damp-heat from the lower jiao.
On the midline, in the depression located between the tip of the coccyx and the anus. The point is located with the patient in a prone or knee-chest position.
With the patient in the knee-chest or lateral recumbent position, needle obliquely upwards along the anterior surface of the coccyx, 0.5 to 1.0 cun. Avoid puncturing the rectum.
Regulates the lower orifices, treats hemorrhoids and prolapse, calms the spirit, activates the channel and alleviates pain, clears damp-heat from the lower jiao.
Hemorrhoids (five types), bloody stools from intestinal wind, chronic hemorrhoids, anal fistula (lower leakage), ulceration and erosion of the perineum, diarrhea, difficult defecation, difficult urination, the five types of urinary dysfunction (lin), infantile fright epilepsy with convulsions, vomiting blood, fright and fear with seminal emission, deviated vision, madness, mania, spinal rigidity, lower back and spinal pain, head heaviness, infantile fontanel collapse, infantile convulsions with spasms, infantile vomiting and diarrhea, infantile fright and fear, infantile strabismus.
Changqiang is the primary distal point for all disorders of the anus, including various types of hemorrhoids, fistulas, prolapse, and pain. Its classical indications also highlight a strong connection to the spine for treating rigidity and pain, and to the spirit for conditions like mania and epilepsy, reflecting its role as the origin of the Du Mai which enters the brain. The point's function in regulating the lower orifices extends to both urination and defecation.
Classical text; the translation was prepared with AI and is not clinical advice.
《十四經發揮》 Shísì Jīng Fāhuī — Exposition of the Fourteen Channels, 1341 · Source: Wikisource ↗
督脈當脊中起於長強，在二十一椎下According to this text, the governor vessel runs along the middle of the spine and begins at DU1, which lies below the 21st vertebra.
《千金翼方》 Qiānjīn Yìfāng — Supplement to the Thousand Gold Prescriptions, c. 682 · 卷28 · Source: Wikisource ↗
長強在窮脊骨下宛宛中，主下漏、五痔、疳蟲食下部，針入三寸，伏地取之According to this text, DU1 lies in the small hollow below the end of the spine (coccyx) and was used for leaking below, the five kinds of haemorrhoids and 'gan worms eating the lower parts'; it is needled 3 cun deep, located with the patient lying prone.
《針方六集》 Zhēnfāng Liùjí — Six Collections on Needling, Wu Kun, 1618 · 卷之五·紛署集 · 背自第一椎循督脈行至脊骶凡十三穴第七 · Source: jicheng.tw ↗
長強一穴，治九般痔瘻，臟毒，大便洞泄，小便不通，五淋The text records that DU1 was used for the nine kinds of haemorrhoids and fistulas, 'visceral toxin', outpouring diarrhoea, urinary blockage and the five kinds of painful urination.
DU1 is one of 28 points on the Governing Vessel Meridian. Nearby points:
DU1 (Changqiang) is located on the midline, in the depression located between the tip of the coccyx and the anus. The point is located with the patient in a prone or knee-chest position.
DU1 regulates the lower orifices, treats hemorrhoids and prolapse, calms the spirit, activates the channel and alleviates pain, clears damp-heat from the lower jiao. Common clinical indications include hemorrhoids (five types), bloody stools from intestinal wind, chronic hemorrhoids, anal fistula (lower leakage), ulceration and erosion of the perineum, diarrhea, difficult defecation, difficult urination, the five types of urinary dysfunction (lin), infantile fright epilepsy with convulsions, vomiting blood, fright and fear with seminal emission, deviated vision, madness, mania, spinal rigidity, lower back and spinal pain, head heaviness, infantile fontanel collapse, infantile convulsions with spasms, infantile vomiting and diarrhea, infantile fright and fear, infantile strabismus.
With the patient in the knee-chest or lateral recumbent position, needle obliquely upwards along the anterior surface of the coccyx, 0.5 to 1.0 cun. Avoid puncturing the rectum. Caution: Moxibustion is contraindicated for head sores as the 'qi of the葶藶 (lepidium seed, used in some moxa preparations) can enter' (Zi Sheng Jing). When performing moxibustion for hemorrhoids, protect the surrounding flesh (e.g., with a bamboo shield). It is advised to perform moxibustion during cool weather and to avoid 'toxic substances' (Zi Sheng Jing).
DU1 is a point on the Governing Vessel Meridian (Dū Mài).