The Most Commonly Used Chinese Medicine Treatments For Anxiety And Pain

Are you aware that acupressure can be a safe way for children undergoing to relieve post-surgical nausea and vomiting?

Furthermore, in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, acupressure has also been proven to reduce feelings of nausea. If properly performed, acupressure also can help, boost circulation, alleviate pain and tension and help the body to relax.

It can promote wellness and strengthen the immune system. This therapy is far better than physical therapy for many of the patients suffering from low back pain.

Acupressure can be used to lessen anxiety and fear in pre-operative care patients and victims of trauma. Anyone can administer acupressure anyplace anytime without the need for any equipment.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is an integrated health care system that is designed to treat chronic and acute health conditions. It is believed to have begun in China about 4000 years ago. Its principle is to treat safely without side effects, and its philosophy is based on natural law. The objective of acupuncture is to stimulate the healing of oneself from within.

The rebalancing of the field of energy in the body lies in the belief of a life force called Chi. This Chi flows all across the body to nourish and regenerate the whole person. It’s produced by the internal organs and moves along channels called meridians.

The meridians comprise a network that’s constantly “communicating” with the rest of the body maintaining all body functions in total harmony. Because of this, all the bodily systems (muscular, skeletal, digestive, reproductive, circulatory, endocrine, nervous systems, etc.) all harmonize with each other via these meridian networks.

One of the responsibilities of an acupuncturist is to find out whether a person’s Chi out of balance, stagnant or weak. This will help him identify the acupuncture points (acupoints) to be innervated or stimulated. 

Dis-ease is the result of Chi not flowing properly across the body.  The acupoints are located just above the skin surface, and underneath, just below the skin are where the meridians are. The acupoints can be stimulated by finger or hand pressure or by needles or even by weak voltage pulses of electricity. 

Through this process, Chi can be energized and its responsibilities of protecting, transforming, and nourishing the body are increased. Acupuncture and acupressure have been proven to work in several clinical trials and have been shown to be a natural, safe, and time tested way to maintain or restore health.

Massage

Chinese medicine practitioners who are capable of deep reflection and independent thought believe that massage sprang from nature itself. Just by observing the animal world, you will see how almost all animal mothers treat their babies. They feed, cuddle, stroke, and lick their babies to stimulate and nurture their growth and development.

When one combine both massage and acupuncture together, the get have acupressure or acupuncture massage. 

Acupressure

Based on a method that follows the same theories as acupuncture, acupressure is a healing massage therapy involving the application of physical pressure by elbow, hand, finger, or by the use of mechanical or electrical devices on various acupoints on the surface of the skin.

Simply put, massage therapy of the acupoints is called acupressure.

A lot of martial artists strive to learn and use acupressure for health purposes and self-defense. An acupoint or a combination of acupoints are utilized to allegedly handicap or manipulate an opponent. Martial artists also usually routinely massage their own acupoints in order to eliminate any blockages that may have arisen in their meridians, thereby claiming to increase flexibility and flow of blood, which make the acupoints less at risk to be hurt from attacks by an opponent. One of the techniques in some martial arts styles is attacking the acupoints.

Anyone can be taught the art of acupressure at home as an addendum to visits to a practitioner. When you’re unable to quickly go to the doctor or when you’re suddenly stricken with pain or illness, learning to administer acupressure on yourself can be especially useful.

What is Electro Acupuncture Acupressure?

These days, people are scared of using needles for treatment because of the fear of contracting AIDS and other such forms of diseases. But, because acupuncture is a very effective form of treatment, this practice did not die. However, technological advancements in the field of acupuncture have made possible the development of a whole new form of acupuncture called electro acupuncture (whereby stimulations are applied using electrical pulses). Hence, the concepts in all the derivative methods and the outcomes remain the same.

Available on the market these days are a few different kinds of electro or electronic acupuncture acupressure massagers. This is actually a device with an electric circuit that generates low voltage electrical pulses. Through the electrical pads in the device connected to your body, you can feel these pulses on your skin. The electric pulses target the acupoints and apply light pressure to the points. These gadgets are commonly known as AM or acupuncture massagers or EAM or electronic acupuncture massagers.

What is EMS and TENS?

EMS stands for Electrical Muscle Stimulation while TENS means Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. Both therapies are drug-free, non-invasive ways to relieve aches, sores, and pains. TENS is especially useful in the treatment of arthritis. Pads are used and applied near or at the site of pain. It utilizes comforting pulses, which are transmitted through the pads along the nerve fibers and via the skin. The pulsations inhibit pain signals going to the brain. It also promotes the production of the body’s own natural feel-good chemicals known as encephalins and endorphins manufacturing higher levels of these natural pain-killing chemicals.

This goes for EMS as well. The only thing different between the two is that EMS is used for stimulating the muscles, (thus its name) and TENS is used to treat the nerves.

The frequencies at which they operate is another basic difference between EMS, TENS, AM, and EAM. EMS is often usually in the range of 1 to 152 Hz. TENS is more or less the same. AM and EAM tend to have a higher level of pulse strength and be at this range’s lower level (between 1 and 52 Hz).

Based on my experience and the experiences of many practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine and medical doctors I have talked to, low range frequencies are far better for muscle stimulation and alleviation of pain relief than the higher range frequencies. The higher range frequencies are more suitable for the treatment of certain illnesses and should be only performed under the guidance of a medical physician. Therefore, they all are extremely useful therapies.