Acupressure is a completely non-invasive technique that only involves the application of pressure to certain points on nerve-rich portions of the body such as the hands or feet that correspond to the source of the discomfort.
Acupressure has been studied for thousands of years by practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Its basic premise is that the energy pathways that flow throughout the body end in the same basic areas-the feet, the hands and the ears. If there is an energy blockage relating to a particular part of the body, it can be corrected by working on the end (or beginning, depending on how you choose to look at it) of that particular pathway.
Masters of Traditional Chinese Medicine spent centuries correctly identifying the part of the foot that corresponds to each individual body part, allowing today’s students to build on that work by learning the maps made by experts in the past. For example, sinus trouble can be counteracted in acupressure by focusing on the tips of the toes of the left foot. In a similar manner, there is a part of the left or right foot that corresponds to nearly every body part, helping clear those energy pathways and making you feel better in the process.
Acupressure has been successfully used to combat various conditions that require long-term treatment, sometimes as an alternative to Western medicine and sometimes as a supplemental treatment.
Chronic Pain- One of the most commonly sought-after acupressure treatments is in response chronic pain. Acupressure treatments for back pain, knee pain and neck pain are becoming more popular with each passing year as more and more people undergo successful treatment for chronic pain and then recommend the same to their acquaintances. The acupressure treatment for such conditions is fairly straightforward- one simply needs to apply pressure to the corresponding pressure points, with most people reporting a drop in pain levels within the first few sessions.
According to an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, over 30% of Americans suffer from some form of chronic pain, and a large percentage of those people are prescribed long-term opioids in order to deal with that pain. The problem is that long term usage of opioids builds tolerance for the medication within the body, which means that people eventually take more and more medication to combat the same amount of pain. This is extremely risky, as it can eventually lead to an overdose. Prescription drugs were the most common source of drug overdoses- more than double the number for heroin, according to the same article.
Supplemental Cancer Treatment- One of the most popular forms of acupressure treatment is in the form of a supplementary cancer treatment to patients undergoing chemotherapy. While acupressure is not a treatment for cancer, it can help to reduce the side-effects of cancer treatment and chemotherapy. Acupressure helps by reducing nausea, relieving pain, reducing stress and boosting energy levels, allowing chemotherapy patients to feel more like their old selves and thereby speeding up the recovery process.
Acupressure can help with a variety of conditions, and the best part is that it does so without side-effects and is completely non-invasive. Both our Meridian Shiatsu massage and foot reflexology massage incorporate principles of acupressure into the treatment- get in touch with our team if you would like to book an appointment.
