Acupoints

Natural Shoulder Recovery: An Acupoint to Target Stiffness and Pain After Injury

Healing shoulder injuries takes time—fortunately, the Ju Gu acupoint stands ready to help restore the flow of vital energies.
Natural Shoulder Recovery: An Acupoint to Target Stiffness and Pain After Injury
LI16 Great Bone Ju Gu
Moreen Liao
Moreen Liao
R.Ph. of TCM (Taiwan)
|Updated:
checkCircleIconMedically reviewed byJingduan Yang, M.D.
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Shoulder injuries are not limited to athletes. Adults often sustain them through recreational sports like skiing, cycling, or snowboarding, as well as when doing everyday activities. If there’s no serious displacement, treatment usually involves a sling and some painkillers. However, many patients continue to feel discomfort long after being cleared by imaging and medical evaluation.

In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), lingering shoulder pain is attributed to unresolved disruptions in the flow of qi and blood. These vital energies travel along meridians, or energy pathways, which, among many jobs, also support joint health. Great Bone (Ju Gu, LI16) is an acupoint on the shoulder used to help restore flow, especially when recovery feels incomplete.

Classic Texts’ Perspective

Ju Gu was first recorded in the “Su Wen” (“Basic Questions”), one of the foundational texts of the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon, which discusses the theoretical principles of TCM. Ju Gu belongs to the Large Intestine meridian, which passes along the shoulder. According to a key principle in acupuncture, an acupoint treats the area through which its meridian runs.
Moreen Liao
Moreen Liao
R.Ph. of TCM (Taiwan)
Moreen was born into a family with a lineage of four generations of traditional Chinese medicine doctors and professors. She was Dean of the Natural Therapies Institute in Sydney, Australia. Drawing on her family heritage, she created a certified organic wellness brand, and co-founded the largest Chinese medical image encyclopedia online.