The American College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine on Acupressure as Self-Administered Method
The American College of Acupuncture and
Oriental Medicine says that while expert hands are needed for most methods like
acupuncture, herbs-focused treatment, and other TCM forms, there are Oriental
medicine approaches that can be self-administered. One of these methods is
acupressure.
In a new study, experts have established
that even as a self-administered tool, acupressure is effective in pain management,
especially for lower back pain. Speaking about the findings, Susan Murphy, ScD,
OTR, an associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Michigan
Medicine and lead author of the study, said that the TCM technique could indeed
be used as a pain management tool. “Compared to the usual care group, we found
that people who performed stimulating acupressure experienced pain and fatigue
improvement and those that performed relaxing acupressure felt their pain had
improved after six weeks,” Murphy said.
However, with these results, the American
College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine says that it is only for
acupressure. The approach is similar to acupuncture, where specialists are said
to manipulate the energy flow in the patient’s body by stimulating pressure
points. However, instead of acupuncture needles, the method uses direct
pressure. The institution says that even if the patient is already familiar
with pressure points, acupuncture is best handled by an expert.
Acupuncturists are specialists in the
profession since they undergo at least four years of education and training at
a school or college certified by national governing body. These professionals
also need to pass certification before they can practice their craft.
Aside from lower back pain, both
acupressure and acupuncture are known to be popular complementary pain
management options for major health issues like osteoarthritis and cancer.
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acupuncture, and related TCM approaches. Follow and subscribe to the American
College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine today!
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