Acupressure is a method of relieving pain that I find amazing. I have used acupressure to help with my knees, and I have recently started using acupressure to help with my shoulder and neck pain. Acupressure may sound silly or too new age for many people, but it is simply a method of massage that is used on particular points on your body to help relieve stress, strain, and pain. At first I thought it sounded silly too, but now I know that it actually works. So try it, and I promise it will help you if you do it correctly.
Remember acupressure is similar to massage and when you are first learning remember to be gentle and be patient. Everybody is unique, and although we all are composed of the same muscles, bones, and organs the placement may slightly vary. When you first start out you should move your fingers in a circular motion. This will help you identify the points you are looking for. Start with a wide circle and move slowly inward until you can narrow down on a point; it may be helpful for you to continue widening and shrinking your circle if the muscle is extremely tight and tense.
In order to help with neck and shoulder pain start by laying down, or reclining in a chair so that you can rest your head. Now use your fingers in a circular motion to rub the base of your skull. Move slowly down your neck and outward to your shoulders. If you feel a spot that is tense or hurts when pressed on stop and focus on this are. Rub on this spot until you feel a slight discomfort. Continue rubbing, but remember to increase pressure, but do not hurt yourself. You will feel a release after your have reach the point of slight discomfort. Move on to the next part of your shoulders after you have released this tension. Work your way across your shoulders and to the point where your back and your shoulder blade meet. In this spot is a very sensitive pressure point. Focus on this spot, but be careful to not over due it. You want to it feel intense, but you do not want it to hurt. When you feel release work back up to your head and relax for a few minutes before continuing with your daily routine.
Remember while you are rubbing to stop every few seconds and reevaluate the pain. If you are hitting the right spots it will go away. If the pain returns complete this exercise again. Sometimes the pain will stay gone for days; sometimes will come back in hours. It depends on how bad the injury actually is. When ever you feel the pain continue to do this exercise, and the reoccurring of this pain will lessen.
I hope this method of acupressure has helped you as much as it has helped me!
