Western conventional medicine regularly introduces new drugs and procedures to help patients deal with back pain. Many of these come with side effects potentially much worse than the condition being treated.
Just as disturbing, many of the treatments are less effective than safer methods which have been used for literally thousands of years to eliminate pain and disease. One of those methods is acupressure.
What is acupressure?
Acupressure is based on the same Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) principles as acupuncture, but uses gentle to firm pressure on pressure points in place of needles. It aims to promote well being by instantly relieving pain, increasing circulation, and promoting relaxation. Practitioners believe it can help eliminate certain disease states and other health conditions in addition to various types of back, neck and sciatic pain.
How does acupressure work?
Acupressure treatment is based on freeing energy flow along lines of energy called meridian channels by manipulating energy points along those lines. It is thought that pain results from either a blockage in energy flow and/or a deficiency of energy in an area. Pressure is used to increase energy in areas affected by the pressure point. Blockages in the energy flow are reduced with a counterclockwise motion over the affected pressure point.
What evidence shows acupressure works?
Acupressure is a system of medicine which predates modern science and is treated with skepticism by some conventional medicine practitioners. Yet millions of people around the world continue to get pain relief and experience improvement in health conditions through acupressure every year.
One recent review of acupuncture’s effects on the brain using MRIs and PET scans show pressure on these energy points affect areas of the brain associated with the symptom being treated. Yet modern medicine remains mystified as to exactly how TCM like acupuncture and acupressure works.
Where can I get acupressure treatment?
Acupressurists can be found in most mid-size or larger cities. Costs typically range from $50-$75 per session. Alternatively, self treatment may be an option for some. A trigger point therapy self treatment kit can be a useful for placing pressure on hard to reach pressure points as well as eliminating painful trigger points.
One of the most common New Year resolutions made each year is to get back into shape. Health club and gym membership rosters swell with new enrollees the first week of January.
If you were one of them, you probably experienced long lines to get a turn with the exercise equipment, weights, or even a spot in an exercise class. And if you were like many of the well-intentioned new members, you already find it a struggle to make it to the gym on a regular basis – or have already given up altogether.
If you need a little encouragement to get started again, this article will give you some incentives you may not have thought of already plus some tips on how to stay on track this time.
Exercise: What’s in it for me?
You already know exercise is important for your health in a general sense. But here are some specific benefits you can experience through regular exercise:
Exercise strengthens bones, provides more protective muscle mass around them, and improves balance – all increasingly important as we age to protect our bones
Burn off fat, but not just while exercising – muscles burn fat calories 24 hours a day
Feel happier and fight depression thanks to endorphins released during exercise
Take it slow
One of the biggest reasons for quitting an exercise program in the first two weeks is discomfort from sore and aching muscles. Take time to warm up and stretch before every workout. Begin with a light workout and build gradually to avoid injury and excess soreness. Apply ice to any injury immediately, followed up as needed with heat or a pain relief cream. Allow a day or two of recovery time before working the same muscles again, more if they are still sore.
Keep it interesting
Boredom is the curse of many exercise programs after a few weeks. Getting in shape doesn’t require following the same weight circuit at the gym or the same course around the running track day after day. Try a new class, exercise routine, or take a different route on your daily run. Don’t be afraid to be creative. Even sex gives your heart, lungs, and major muscle groups a great workout while burning about 300 calories an hour.
Chart your progress
Make your workouts a habit. Haphazard scheduling makes it far too easy to skip one, then two, then more workouts. Try using a workout journal to track your progress and keep you on course.
Arnica is a member of the daisy family native to mountainous regions of Europe and Siberia. Its flower has been used in herbal medicine preparations to treat muscle aches and inflammation for nearly five centuries.
Although arnica is available as a homeopathic remedy to be ingested, most scientific evidence points to topical application as a cream to be the most effective way to get the plant’s anti-inflammatory and pain relieving benefits. Those benefits, according to multiple studies, rival the effectiveness of NSAIDs like ibuprofen.
Arnica as an anti-inflammatory
The main therapeutic effects of arnica are derived from its compound helenalin. Although the complete process by which helenalin works is not fully understood yet, it appears to play a role as an inhibitor in the complex process of protein regulated immune response which leads to inflammation.
Arnica improves circulation and stimulates white blood cells to eliminate congested blood (such as hematomas) for faster relief of swelling and bruising. This decreased pressure typically results in less pain at the site of injury.
Medicinal uses of arnica
Besides treating muscle aches and pains, arnica has also been found effective at providing tendon and joint pain relief for conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis. Some preparations have taken advantage of arnica’s antibacterial and fungicidal properties for treating other external conditions as varied as eczema, acne, and burns.
How to take arnica
Arnica is most commonly used as a component in topically applied pain relief creams which usage has been scientifically proven to benefit the recipient when applied externally. Some homeopathic remedies are sold with extremely diluted arnica in forms safe for internal use including tablets, liquid, powders and teas.
Cautions
Arnica should never be directly ingested except in standard homeopathic preparations. Arnica should not be used while pregnant or breastfeeding, particularly as some compounds found in arnica may induce labor. Avoid rubbing arnica into open wounds or broken skin.
Most people say they want to get rid of their pain, but they really don’t.
For some reason, they just really aren’t ready… otherwise they would have done it already or at least be actively working on it… relentless in their determination to get their life back.
Many of these people claim that if they only knew “how to” solve the problem they would. Yet there is more than enough of the how to… it’s everywhere…in books, videos, audios, doctors, etc… our entire website is full of some of the best how to there is when it comes to back pain… yet most people still don’t get relief… but not because the how to didn’t work, they don’t get relief because they are lacking the “want to”… a real desire to do what it takes to eliminate the problem.
I urge you to listen to this audio from Steve Chandler about the difference between the “How to” and the “Want to”… it’s this that can keep you stuck in pain or can set you free.
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If you’re struggling to get lasting relief from back pain or sciatica, I’m willing to bet that there is one thing that is keeping you “stuck” in pain…
And once you address this little talked about factor, you’ll finally get rid of the pain and be able to keep it away.
Listen to this life changing audio right now
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The Healthy Back Institute - 333 Main St. Suite #201 Gaithersburg, MD 20878
Phone: 800-216-4908 Fax: 866-843-4319
The Healthy Back Institute is a Get Healthy and Fit Company
Western conventional medicine regularly introduces new drugs and procedures to help patients deal with back pain. Many of these come with side effects potentially much worse than the condition being treated.
One of the most common 
Arnica is a member of the daisy family native to mountainous regions of Europe and Siberia. Its flower has been used in herbal medicine preparations to treat muscle aches and inflammation for nearly five centuries.
