Pressure points mean different things to different people. Nerve bundles located in multiple places on the human body create pressure points. Acupressure, massage and reflexology therapists use the nerve bundle pressure points for relaxation and pain treatment. Another use of the term pressure point refers to the sites for taking pulse over the location of different arteries in the body. In addition, the condition, fibromyalgia, describes pressure points as part of the definition of the syndrome.
Acupressure Points
Acupressure identifies over 400 sites on the human body. According to the Institute for Integrative Healthcare Studies, acupressure is a 5,000-year-old healing art from China that uses the thumb and fingers to apply force to the pressure points. The proponents of acupressure describe the treatment as a releaser of muscular tension, a promoter of blood circulation and the body's vital energy or Qi and a relaxer of the body.
A therapist applies firm pressure to a muscular knot of tension into the indentation near a bone with the thumb or fingers. Painful points mean an area has excessive energy. Points with no pain indicate areas of energy deficiency. Pressure point therapy examines the points on the bilateral parts of the body.
Massage Therapy
The Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals describe massage therapy as the utilization of manipulation techniques to soft tissue and muscles to reduce stress, decrease pain and increase blood circulation. Massage involves over 250 techniques. These techniques may entail use of compression, friction and pressure to pressure points at various places on the body.
Reflexology Pressure Points
According to the University of Minnesota, reflexology uses application of appropriate pressure by the thumbs and fingers to specific pressure points in the feet, hands or ears to improve a person's health. These pressure points correspond to different organs and systems in the body. Reflexology purports to not diagnose or cure health disorders, but is used all over the world to complement other treatment for conditions like anxiety, asthma, cancer, diabetes and headaches.
Pulse Pressure Points
Pressure points for taking pulse exist at locations where the artery crosses over a bone. The most common sites for taking pulse reside at the radial arterial location on the wrist and the carotid artery location on the neck. Other sites examined by healthcare providers include the brachial artery in the front of the elbow, the femoral artery in the groin and the pedal artery on top of the foot.
Fibromyalgia Pressure Points
Mayo Clinic defines fibromyalgia as the presence of at least 11 or more tender points out of 18 pressure points. Common areas of pressure points include top of the shoulders, between the shoulder blades, the upper chest and both sides of the hips. Pressure points in fibromyalgia occur on both sides of the body and above and below the waist.
