I often treat people who complain of cold feet and hands even in the middle of summer. This is mostly due to poor circulation of blood in the extremities. From our standpoint, “poor circulation” is caused by Blood Deficiency (血虚 Kekkyo in Japanese). When there is not enough blood, it does not reach the extremities. Another way of looking at this is that it is caused by Stagnant Blood (瘀血 Oketsu). Whatever the reason is, blood is not distributed evenly throughout the body.
Acupuncturists tend to associate cold feet and hands with the imbalance of the liver function. There is a set of four acupuncture points called Four Gates that are used to improve the circulation of not only the extremities but the whole body. One point is Liver 3, and the other point is Large Intestine 4. As shown in the illustration, these points are in similar structures. LV 3 is between the first and the second metatarsals, and LI 4 is between the first and the second metacarpals.
The combination of these points addresses circulatory issues of the upper body (LI 4) and the lower body (LV 3). These are such powerful points that many practitioners avoid them when treating pregnant women. Moving blood too much may cause miscarriage.
*Individual results may vary.
