Acupressure to ease anxiety pre surgery

I came across this article posted on Yahoo Health and wanted to share it.

Acupressure seen to calm children before surgery

It would be interesting to see if the effects would have been more pronounced if an acupressure treatment would have been given by a trained professional versus just using the bead method. No doubt the hands on approach would be more successful.

Pain in the neck ~ Part 2

I wrote Part 1 two months ago, click here to read about steps you can take to prevent headaches. Eventually if you are like so many of us, one creeps into your body. So you got a headache. What now? You grab the OTC med's and pop a few. But after awhile, you need more of those pills to ease the pain and after all the reports on the news about various side effects, who really wants to take that stuff?

One thing that has been suggested to me for headaches is magnesium. Be sure to check with your doctor before taking additional supplements though. Personally it has helped me in preventing headaches and I even take less then suggested. A herb called butterbur is known to help with migraine headaches. Always remember to do your research before taking herbs, especially long term. I am not an advocate on taking any single herb long term and rarely take any single herb to begin with. In Chinese Medicine, herbs are prescibed in formula's only.

Got it in the sinuses? Try a drop or two of ravensara essential oil on the sinus cavities and a cool cloth. Have a partner push gently on the following acupoints: Bladder 2, Stomach 3, and Large Intestine 20.

More to come in the next post. For ex. headaches that present in the front of the head, or the sides of the head..... this time I won't wait so long to write the next part. Promise.

What a pain in the neck!

Headaches often start out as tension in the neck muscles. There are various kinds of headaches though from sinus headaches, cluster headaches, hormone headaches and migraines. Most of these tips to helping control headaches are geared towards tension headaches.

It is estimated that 45 million Americans suffer from these various headaches, many chronically. Of those, 28 million have migraines. 60% of children suffer occasionally from headaches. The cost on the work force? $50 million in missed work days and doctor visits.

One definition of a headache states "pain in the head". Tension headaches often start out with a stiff neck, achy occiput region (the area right below your skull on the back of the neck) or even tension in the jaw. Everyone has different area's that might get tight and later cause a headache. The best thing we can do is prevent this tension from invading our bodies. Any form of bodywork that we received regularly can help immensely as well as doing yoga, qi gong and/or meditation. In my line of work, I have discovered that people with poor posture seem to be prone to headaches.

Preventing headaches is key. As a sufferer of both tension and migraine headaches, I speak from my own experience. As I mentioned above, getting regular bodywork is essential. Not only does this help your muscles relax, you are retraining your body on how it should move in a healthy way. You are learning to relax our shoulders, not walk about with them at your ears. How often a client has bodywork is up to each individual. I suggest a few sessions as close together as possible. Ex. once a week. After those sessions are complete, an evaluation is done to see the progress. Most clients then find they can space sessions further apart. Personally I like to go for my sessions once a month.

I mention yoga, meditation and qi gong again. Any of these techniques will stretch and relax the body and mind. When we learn to breath properly, our bodies benefit greatly. I have found that doing qi gong every day has made a world of difference in how I feel and the lack of headaches I get.

Often the spine is out of whack and needs a chiropractor. Talk to some local friends and search out a chiropractor in your area.

Chinese medicine can be a great tool also. Part of the treatments I receive involve bodywork (tui na), acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicines. Finding a qualified Licensed acupuncturist is getting easier and often is covered by insurance plans. To find a practitioner near you, click on the link to the left for the NCCAOM.

In the second part of this article, I will offer some easy at home things you can do to prevent headaches and to ease them once they have infringed on your life.

Shiatsu..... dog or bodywork?

Shiatsu is becoming more and more common place in the United States but still when people hear it, I often get asked, “Isn’t that a dog?”

What is shiatsu then? Briefly put:

Shiatsu is based on principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Similar to Acupressure and using the same theories, Shiatsu can bring balance to the flow of Qi or energy. Over the centuries, Chinese health practitioners developed a system based on the premise that good health is dependent on the balanced flow of vitality in the body and in particular on the energy that flows through a specific system of channels or meridians.

Shiatsu can be very helpful for postural and muscular-skeletal problems and stress related conditions. Recipients report Shiatsu has helped with headaches, PMS, chronic pain and injuries. It has also been shown to promote improved sleep, relief of anxiety, and reduced muscle tension.

So what exactly happens during a Shiatsu session? To start, the client arrives in the office dressed in comfortable, stretchy clothes. No undressing necessary for this bodywork. A health screen will be filled out and we will begin by asking some questions. The client may be confused as to the reasoning behind the questions but that all comes to light soon enough. The pulse will be assessed, the tongue will be analyzed. All this leads to setting up a session for each specific individual. The assessment process is similar to being treated by an acupuncturist, as the principles are the same. But in Shiatsu, no needles are used, only finger pressure.

The session starts with the client on a padded mat, lying on the floor. Stretching the limbs, doing acupressure, mobilizing the body and increasing range of motion. All these things are done to improve the flow of Qi in the meridans. The therapist will use finger pressure, elbows, arms and even feet to get the desired effect. The work is done in a rhythmic way to induce relaxation, the setting very calming.

Adjunct therapies in Asian Bodywork are often used during a session, such as cupping, gua sha and moxibustion. Dietary advice may be offered in help in the healing process. Qi gong exercises are also a vital part of Asian Bodywork.

My next article will explore the how’s and why’s concerning cupping, gua sha and moxibustion.

Insomnia

As many of you know, I have had my fair share of sleeping issues. I hear from so many people their horror stories, being up all night, tossing and turning all night, ect. and I feel for you all. So today I want to give some easy (or not so easy) suggestions to help us all get those much desired zzzz's.

One of the most common things you hear about are essential oils. Lavender Oil is one of the most popular essential oils to help the body relax and it is a safe oil. Sprinkle a few drops on your pillow before going to bed or rub a few drops into the bottom of your feet. A few other oils that may work well (because not everyone likes lavender) are chamomile, cedarwood, and valerian.

Here is one out of the book "Chinese System of Food Cures" by Henry Lu. He suggests crushing an onion and putting it in a jar. Inhale the vapors through the nose while in bed. Normally you fall asleep in 15 minutes.

In homeopathic medicine there are various options. Nux Vomica is effective for insomnia as a result of coffee, alcohol or drug abuse. Nux Vomica is also used when there is mental strain. If attacks of anxiety and fear drive you out of bed, try Arsenicum. Coffea is best used when the mind is overactive. Arnica is helpful if you have overextended yourself physically or mentally and now feel to tired to fall asleep. Lastly, Chamomilla is good for cases of extreme irritability, physical pains or addiction to sedatives.

Another thing we can do for ourselves or have a loved one do is acupressure. Two common points used for insomnia are Kidney 6 and Bladder 62. Massage and press these 2 points together on both sides to help the body relax and promote sleep. Holding Heart 7 for a minute on both sides as well as Pericardium 6 can help. Press and massage into the points to stimulate each point for about a minute or two.

Lastly, when these things don't help, it may be necessary to seek professional help. You may choose to see a MD but I would also suggest talking to a licensed acupuncturist/herbalist and you may also get relief from receiving bodywork. If you read past posts on this blog, you will see how getting acupuncture and taking herbs that were prescribed to me by a licensed professional has helped immensely. You do not need to suffer!

Sweet dreams!