Acupressure is a form of touch therapy that utilizes the principles of acupuncture and Chinese medicine. In acupressure, the same points on the body that are used in acupuncture are stimulated with finger pressure instead of with the insertion of needles.

Acupressure is used to relieve a variety of symptoms and pain. Acupressure can be effective in helping relieve pain associated with:

• headaches
• eyestrain
• sinus problems
• neck pain
• backaches
• arthritis
• muscle aches
• stress-related tension

There are also great advantages to using acupressure as a way to balance the body and maintain good health. The healing touch of acupressure reduces tension, increases circulation, and enables the body to relax deeply. By relieving stress, acupressure strengthens resistance to disease and promotes wellness.

In acupressure, local symptoms are considered an expression of the condition of the body as a whole. A tension headache, for instance, may be rooted in the shoulder and neck area. Thus acupressure focuses on relieving pain and discomfort as well as on responding to tension before the constrictions and imbalances can do further damage.

STUDIES SHOW ACUPRESSURE EASES LOW BACK PAIN

Acupresssure - pushing with the fingertips at the same body points used in acupuncture gave patients better, long-lasting relief for low back pain than conventional physical therapy, Taiwanese researchers report. "Acupressure was effective in reducing low back pain in terms of disability, pain scores and functional status," doctors at the National Taiwan University reported in the current issue of the British Medical Journal. "The benefit was sustained for six months." The researchers recruited 129 people with chronic low back pain from a specialist orthopedic clinic. All of them filled out a standard disability questionnaire before being assigned to one of two different treatment regimens, with 64 people receiving six sessions of acupressure and 65 receiving standard physical therapy. "Acupressure conferred an 89 percent reduction in physical disability compared with physical therapy," the researchers reported. The people who got acupressure also scored better on measures of pain and had fewer days taken off from work or school, the researchers said.
(Source: Science Daily February 22, 2006)

Click here to learn more about Acupuncture

Click here to learn more about Neurofeedback