The best acupressure tools are literally at your fingertips -- or more accurately, they are your fingertips. The ancient Chinese art of pressure point massage most often relies on the practitioner's ability to project her qi, or vital energy, through her fingertips to help release any blocks in a client's energy system. Several tools that mimic and enhance the effects of an acupressure treatment are available or in development, as of 2010.
Theory
Acupressure, a technique of traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM, helps the body to maintain an energy balance that ensures optimal health and allows you to harmonize with your environment, according to Alex Holland, founder of the Peninsula Acupuncture Clinic in Port Townsend, Washington, and author of "Voices of Qi: An Introductory Guide to Traditional Chinese Medicine." When you feel stressed or suffer from injury, your qi can stagnate and symptoms of illness might arise. Acupressure opens energy channels, allowing balance and healing to take place.
Types
In addition to applying pressure and massage to points with his fingertips, an acupressure practitioner might use thumbs, elbows or the palms of his hands to stimulate the free flow of qi along subtle energy channels, also called "meridians," throughout the body. A traditional practitioner might also tape the tiny seeds of the vaccaria plant to your ear. You can press on the seeds any time after your treatment to continue to clear energy channels throughout the day. Acupressure beads --- a modern version of vaccaria seeds---come with self-adhesive tape for easy application to your ear.
Uses
Some pressure points are difficult to access with your fingertips because they are small --- about one-eighth of an inch across --- and located in natural dips in your tendons or bone structure. If you're performing self-acupressure, and you're having trouble locating points, the eraser end of a pencil might be your new best friend, advises the website Eclectic Energies. You'll know you've found a point when the eraser presses on a spot that feels especially tender.
Technique
Whatever tool you use to apply acupressure, knowing how to apply pressure is of vital importance, notes Michael Reed Gach, national self-care expert on acupressure and co-author of "Acupressure for Emotional Healing." The pressure should balance between pain and pleasure. In other words, it should "hurt good," says Gach. A practitioner should never apply so much pressure that you are in extreme pain. This will only cause you to feel more tense. If you are in good shape and your muscles are firm, more pressure will be necessary in order to create a healing effect.
Innovations
In the future, you might be able to receive the healing benefits of acupressure through the clothes you wear. According to 2007 information from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, researchers in the Tangible Media Group at the MIT Media Lab are developing garments, called touch-sensitive apparel, which can deliver massage and acupressure to key points on the body. A touch-sensitive jacket will sense tension in the wearer's body and apply pressure via inflatable pockets containing wooden balls. Over time, touch-sensitive apparel learns your preferences and needs in order to deliver relief when and where you need it, according to creators Cati Vaucelle and Yasmine Abbas.
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