Acupressure is a non-invasive technique, in which the practitioner only uses his fingers, his thumbs, and occasionally his elbow to put pressure on certain parts of the body for the purpose of relieving pain by releasing Qi (pronounced "chee").
Acupressure is closely associated with Eastern medical disciplines like acupuncture and Shiatsu.
Acupressure is used to treat such human ailments as back pain, headache, fatigue, anxiety, stress and tension, feelings of melancholy, and immune system deficiencies. But it is not used to treat such problems as open wounds, scar tissue, varicose veins, or areas of inflammation and swelling.
The basic idea of Acupressure is to restore the balance of Qi to the body by either blocking or calming it at certain very specific points.
According to those who practice acupressure, there are 12 channels in the body, and each channel has 365 points. Additionally, there are 650 individual pressure points.
Pregnant women should never seek relief for the back pain associated with pregnancy from a person who practices acupressure. There are specific pressure points that can cause miscarriage.
When people are suffering from back pain, the one thing that they want more than anything else is relief. And they want that relief sooner rather than later.
Modern Western medicine has lagged behind in the ability to relieve back pain. Disciplines such as acupuncture, shiatsu, and acupressure address the problem of back pain and do something about it.
Usually people will first consult their medical doctors when they have back pain. They don't usually move on to the alternate medicine until they have exhausted the relief provided by their doctors.
However, once a patient discovers that relief can be obtained quickly and painlessly by some alternative medicines, the next time they have a backache, they use the alternative options first rather than last.
