# ST38 Tiaokou (Ribbon Opening) – Stomach Meridian

條口 · tiáo kǒu

Location: 8 thumb widths below ST35, 1 finger breadth (middle finger) from anterior border of the tibia.

Cautions: No specific contraindications.

Canonical page: https://acuiq.com/points/st38

## Indications

An indication list is a reference index, not a prescription – see the protocols below for sourced treatments.

Muscle Wasting, Benefit Shoulders, Benefit Shoulders, Common Cold, Damp, Heat Foot Sole, Heat Foot Sole, Shoulder Stiffness, Standing Stiffness, Immobility Shoulder, Immobility Standing, Numbness, Pain, Abdominal Pain, Abdominal Pain, Shin Pain, Shin Pain, Swelling, Swollen Knee, Swollen Knee, Thigh Swelling, Thigh Swelling, Bi Arthralgia Syndrome, Bi / Arthralgia Syndrome, Bi Arthralgia Leg Syndrome, Bi / Arthralgia Leg Syndrome, Wind Damp Syndrome, Wind-damp Syndrome

## Most often selected alongside ST38

Sourced protocols in the index pairing each point with this one. Corpus frequency, not a combination to use.

- LI15 (Shoulder And Clavicle) – 16 protocols
- SI09 (True Shoulder) – 11 protocols
- BL57 (Mountain Support) – 8 protocols
- GB34 (Yang Mound Spring) – 6 protocols
- LI04 (Junction Valley) – 6 protocols
- LI14 (Upper Arm Prominence) – 6 protocols
- TB14 (Shoulder Bone Hole) – 6 protocols
- BL60 (Kunlun (Mountains)) – 5 protocols

## Protocols using ST38

| Symptoms | Points | Course | Source | Kind | Caveat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nausea, Bloating, Heartburn, Dyspepsia Functional, Abdominal Pain Epigastric, Early Satiety, Postprandial Fullness | ST32, ST33, ST35, ST38 | 28 days | doi:10.1186/1745-6215-10-75 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Shoulder Chronic Pain, Restricted Range Of Motion Shoulder | LI14, LI15, ST38, SI09, TB14 | 42 days | doi:10.1186/1745-6215-15-130 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Fatigue, Constipation, Numbness, Insomnia, Speech Slurred, Cognitive Impairment, Paralysis Hemiplegia, Paresthesia, Balance Impaired, Traumatic Brain Injury Severe, Tremor Pill-rolling, Vision Diplopia | LI04, LI11, LI14, LI15, ST36, ST38, ST41, SP06, KD03, TB05, GB34 | 399 days | doi:10.7453/gahmj.2014.069 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Shoulder Pain, Range Of Motion Restricted Shoulder, Adhesive Capsulitis | ST38, BL57 | 21 days | doi:10.1155/2018/4197659 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Stiffness Shoulder, Shoulder Chronic Pain, Range-of-motion Reduced Shoulder | ST38 | 1 days | doi:10.1155/2020/5701042 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Shoulder Pain, Shoulder Weakness, Limited Range Of Motion Shoulder, Tear Rotator Cuff | LI15, ST38, SI09 | 42 days | doi:10.12659/MSM.923240 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Shoulder Pain, Neck Pain, Limitation Of Movement Shoulder, Night Pain, Impingement Syndrome Supraspinatus, Rotator Cuff Tear Partial | LU01, LU03, LU04, LU11, LI14, LI15, LI16, ST38, SI09, SI10, SI11, SI12, SI13, SI14, SI15 | 35 days | doi:10.3831/KPI.2021.24.4.206 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Shoulder Pain, Cervical Pain, Adhesive Capsulitis, Limitation Of Movement Shoulder, Night Pain, Radiating To Fingers Pain, Calcified Tendinitis | LU01, LU03, LU04, LU11, LI14, LI15, LI16, ST38, SI09, SI10, SI11, SI12, SI13, SI14, SI15 | 79 days | doi:10.3831/KPI.2021.24.4.206 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Shoulder Pain, Tendonitis Calcific, Range-of-motion Limited Shoulder | LI04, LI14, LI15, ST37, ST38, SI09, SI12, TB05, TB14, GB21, GB34 | 90 days | doi:10.1016/j.jams.2017.12.004 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Depression, Shoulder Pain, Upper-limb Pain, Scapular-girdle Pain, Range-of-motion Restricted, Functional-limitation Upper-limb, Post-mastectomy | LU05, LI04, LI15, ST36, ST38, SP09, BL60, KD07, GB21, LV03, CV03 | 70 days | doi:10.31557/APJCP.2025.26.3.809 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Fatigue, Pain, Lymphedema Upper-limb, Upper-limb Weakness, Shoulder Dysfunction, Cancer Breast Post-surgical | LU05, LI04, LI15, ST36, ST38, SP09, BL60, KD07, GB21, LV03, CV03 | 70 days | doi:10.31557/APJCP.2025.26.3.799 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Shoulder Pain, Paralysis Shoulder, Deltoid Weakness, Biceps Weakness, Paralysis Cervical Postoperative, Palsy Nerve Root C5 | ST38, BL57 | 14 days | doi:10.1155/prm/2625552 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Anxiety, Depression, Shoulder Pain, Limited Range Of Motion Shoulder, Periarthritis Scapulohumeral, Range Of Motion Shoulder Restricted, Periarthritis Shoulder, Immobility Shoulder | LI15, ST38, SP09, SI09, BL57, TB14, GB34, GV14 | 21 days | doi:10.13702/j.1000-0607.20240047 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Shoulder Pain, Stiffness Shoulder, Restricted Range Of Motion Shoulder | ST38, BL57 | 10 days | doi:10.20140/j.2095-7785.2025.04.16 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Epigastric Pain, Early Satiety, Postprandial Fullness, Epigastric Burning, Functional Dyspepsia | ST32, ST33, ST35, ST38 | 40 days | doi:10.13703/j.0255-2930.2012.08.015 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Shoulder Pain, Restricted Range Of Motion Shoulder, Adhesive Capsulitis | LI15, ST38, SI09, BL57, TB14, GB34 | – | doi:10.27180/d.cnki.gjxzc.2023.000109 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Shoulder Pain, Restricted Range Of Motion Shoulder, Adhesive Capsulitis | LI15, ST38, HT01, SI09, BL57, TB14, GB34 | – | doi:10.27180/d.cnki.gjxzc.2023.000109 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Shoulder Pain, Shoulder Periarthritis, Restricted Shoulder Movement | LI15, ST38, ST40, SI03, SI09, BL57, TB14, GB34 | – | doi:10.27368/d.cnki.gtzyy.2020.000102 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Cancer Breast, Upper Limb Weakness, Lymphedema Upper Limb, Quality Of Life Impaired, Muscle Upper Limb Weakness | LU05, LI04, LI15, ST36, ST38, SP09, BL60, KD07, GB21, LV03, CV03 | 70 days | doi:10.31557/APJCP.2025.26.3.799 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Depression, Shoulder Pain, Cancer Breast, Limited Range Of Motion Shoulder, Upper Limb Pain, Immobility Shoulder | LU05, LI04, LI15, ST36, ST38, SP09, BL60, KD07, GB21, LV03, CV03 | 70 days | doi:10.31557/APJCP.2025.26.3.809 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Shoulder Pain, Shoulder Rotator Cuff Pain | LU01, LU03, LU04, LU11, LI14, LI15, LI16, ST38, SI09, SI10, SI11, SI12, SI13, SI14, SI15 | 42 days | doi:10.3831/KPI.2021.24.4.206 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Shoulder Pain, Tear Rotator Cuff, Shoulder Rotator Cuff Pain | LI15, ST38, SI09, XU12 | – | doi:10.12659/MSM.923240 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Shoulder Chronic Pain | ST38 | 1 days | doi:10.1155/2020/5701042 | trial | Point selection reported in a published study. |
| Blood Stagnation, Blood Stagnation | LI16, ST37, ST38, SP08, SP10, BL17, KD18 | 7 days | Yang Yong-Xuan, clinical point-selection notes | text | Point selection recorded in a clinical text or case report. |
| Knee Pain, Swollen Knee, Limited Range Of Motion Knee | ST31, ST32, ST38, SP06, BL23, BL25, BL37, BL57, BL60, KD03, GB31, GB39, GB40, GB41, GB42, LV03 | 15 days | Mikashima Y, Takagi T, Tomatsu T, Horikoshi M, Ikari K, Momohara S. Efficacy of acupuncture during post-acute phase of rehabilitation after total knee arthroplasty. J Tradit Chin Med 2012; 32(4): 545-548 | text | Point selection recorded in a clinical text or case report. |
| Qi Deficiency, Blood Deficiency, Optic Atrophy, Qi Deficiency, Blood Deficiency, Optic Atrophy | ST38, SP06, BL01, GB20, GB37, XH07 | 7 days | sacredlotus.com | web | Point selection published on a website. Not peer-reviewed – check it before relying on it. |

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AcuiQ-authored prose (symptom and meridian descriptions, the wiki, the auricular crosswalk) is licensed CC-BY-4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The assembled protocol compilation is not: build on it with attribution, but do not redistribute it whole as a dataset – https://acuiq.com/terms. The underlying findings are the cited sources' claims – each entry carries its citation; verify against the source before relying on it. Not medical advice: https://acuiq.com/terms