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Alternate names: 腨肠 chuǎi cháng, Calf Intestine; 直肠 zhí cháng, Rectum

Channel: BL, foot greater yáng (tài yáng) bladder channel

Modern location: An acupoint located on the posterior aspect of the lower leg, midway between BL-55 and BL-57, between the two heads of the gastrocnemius muscle.

Classical location: Below Yáng Union (BL-55), in the depression at the center of the calf, seven cùn above the heel. From The Golden Mirror of Medicine (医宗金鑑 yī zōng jīn jiàn)

Local anatomy: The small saphenous vein; deeper, the posterior tibial artery and vein. The medial sural cutaneous nerve; deeper, the tibial nerve.

Action: Soothes the sinews and quickens the network vessels.

Modern indications: Hemorrhoids; pain and hypertonicity of the lumbus and leg.

Classical indications: Cholera cramps; axillary swelling; impediment (bì) of the lower leg; dizziness and headache.

Needle stimulus: Needling: 0.5 cùn perpendicular insertion (see Warnings). Moxa: 3 cones; pole 5‒20 min.

Warning: Needling of this point is contraindicated in some texts.

Point name meaning:

• 承 chéng: to support; to receive
• 筋 jīn: sinew, muscle, tendon

Located in the upper gastrocnemius muscle and useful in treating spasm of that muscle and other similar ailments in the local area, BL-56 truly provides Sinew Support. As it is located below the two sinews at the back of the knee, the point name may also refer specifically to those sinews.

In the The Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (针灸甲乙经 zhēn jiǔ jiā yǐ jīng), there are references to the area at the top of the back of the lower leg as calf intestine. The alternate point name, Calf Intestine, probably derives from this reference.

The alternate name Rectum may refer to the fact that a branch of the bladder channel departs from the main channel at the popliteal fossa and rises to the rectal region. Additionally, many points in the calf area treat rectal disorders. See acupoint names: origins, meanings, and translations.

It is interesting to note that the modern Chinese anatomical term 腓肠肌 féi cháng jī as the transation of gastrocnemius muscle (lit., belly of the shank) may have been influenced by the term 腨肠 chuǎi cháng. See acupoint names: origins, meanings, and translations.

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