Acupressure Point For Neck Pain

When you experience neck pain, rubbing your neck to release tension is one of the most natural things to do. With roots in ancient Buddhist and Taoist medical traditions, acupressure offers a way to boost the effectiveness of self-massage. Use this age-old technique to release any tension that might contribute to your neck pain. Acupressure is not a replacement for conventional medical therapies.

Theory

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) works according to the idea that qi or energy flows throughout our bodies. When qi flows freely, the body easily maintains a state of good health and relaxation. When qi becomes blocked, imbalance and disharmony results, according to Misha Ruth Cohen, TCM practitioner and director of Chicken Soup Chinese Medicine Clinic in San Francisco. Muscle tension and localized pain are all signs of blocked qi.

Causes

If you have ruled out damage to the cervical spine as a cause of your neck pain, but still suffer from persisten pain, you are probably dealing with stored muscle tension, according to Acupressure Online. A broad array of issues can underlie stored tension. If your computer monitor or keyboard requires you to hunch, try lowering or raising your desk chair. Neck pain can also result from emotional stress, according to Michael Reed Gach, founder of the Acupressure Institute in Berkeley, California and co-author of "Acupressure for Emotional Healing." Anger in particular can store itself in the neck and shoulders, causing pain and discomfort.

Considerations

While medical research into the effects of TCM has focused on the pain relief effects of acupuncture---the use of needles to stimulate acupoints---acupressure may be more effective for musculoskeletal pain, according to Cyndie Koopsen and Caroline Young, instructors in holistic health care at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, California. Once you learn acupressure techniques, you can self-treat whenever you need to, which can help you limit the severity of episodes and relieve pain as it arises, Koopsen and Young note in their book "Integrative Health."

Research

Acupressure combined with lavender oil aromatherapy proved effective in relieving neck pain, according to a 2006 study published in the journal "Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice." Over a 3-week period, patients received 8 sessions of acupressure along with lavender oil aromatherapy. One month after the end of treatment, patients continued to enjoy reduced pain intensity and improved range of motion, note authors Y.B. Yip and S.H. Tse, of the School of Nursing at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Add a drop of lavender essential oil to your fingertips when you perform self-acupressure to enhance your treatment.

Try This

Place both middle fingers on the base of your skull in the center, over your spine. Move them down one finger-width, and out from the center one finger-width. Probe firmly for tender spots in these two areas by pushing your fingers in toward the center. Press the points while you inhale and exhale deeply. When the points no longer feel tender, locate the Sea of Tranquility point in the center of your chest, level with your nipples. Place your palms together in prayer position, and press the knuckles of your thumbs into the point. Hold until the point no longer feels tender. Working these two areas can help relieve neck pain and resolve anger issues, says Gach.