acupressure.pptx
- 3. WHAT IS ACUPRESSURE? Acupressure is an ancient healing art that entails using an object (generally the hands or arms) to stimulate specific key points on the body with the goal of relieving pain or discomfort. Pain and discomfort are considered to be signs of energy imbalance, which, may become illness and disease if ignored. Acupressure approaches this energy imbalance in a concrete way through the identification of acupoints. Acupoints are located on meridians, or channels that run throughout the body and connect all parts of the body together. These acupoints are specific sites on the body that often treat pain or discomfort elsewhere. By addressing problems or imbalances at the acupoints, you can balance the flow of energy and thereby reduce or eliminate pain in the affected areas.
- 4. ACUPRESSURE & ACUPUNCTURE Many people confuse acupressure with acupuncture. The two are similar and closely related. Both rely on the same fundamental principles, and both use the same points and meridians. The most important difference: acupuncture uses pins — technically, they’re hair-thin, sterile needles — and acupressure doesn’t. This difference is crucial, because the needle aspect is something that makes many people squeamish or nervous about acupuncture. For those people, acupressure can be an equally effective — yet much less nerve wracking— alternative.
- 5. ACUPUNCTURE
- 6. ORIGIN & DEVELOPMENT  Their roots are believed to trace back to the ancient people of Asia, who realized the many benefits of strategic touch as part of a healing therapy routine.  The ancient people of Asia discovered that pressing specific points on the body can reduce or eliminate pain — often in locations elsewhere on the body. Chinese doctors began focusing on pressure points as a way to treat pain, fight illnesses, and encourage healing after injuries. These sessions, developed by the Chinese, were often used to treat soldiers who had been injured in various military conflicts.  Stone probes, found in Chinese tombs and believed to date back thousands of years, are believed by experts to be the first tools used in acupuncture and acupressure. These stones were called Bian stones and were used as tools to apply pressure to acupoints.
- 7. PRINCIPLE OF ACUPRESSURE ï‚¢ Acupressure consider body as a energy system. ï‚¢ The energy involved is called qi (pronounced kee) or chi (pronounced chee). Health and healing is dependent on the smooth and abundant flow of qi throughout the body. ï‚¢ Life events can challenge your energy system, disrupting the flow of qi and causing imbalance. .
- 8. Theory of Disease and Cure according to Eastern philossphy- 1. Your energy flow is disrupted. 2. You develop symptoms that show you where the energy imbalance is located. 3. Treatment involves shifting the cause of the imbalance. Acupressure seek to regain balance. Pressure is applied to specific points to regulate the flow of qi. As qi becomes more balanced, healing processes are stimulated
- 9. BASIS FOR ACUPRESSURE Acu-points are points on the meridians that are closest to the surface of the skin (although some are deeper, depending on where they’re located on the body). They have an even higher conductivity to energy flow than the rest of the meridian; this energy flow can be measured with micro-electrical voltmeters attached to the skin. Acupoints act as little whirlpools in a stream. Pressing these whirlpool points helps to regulate the flow of qi.
- 10. Imbalance can happen in several ways. Energy flow is impacted by injury, overuse, poor nutrition, emotional trauma, pain, being in bad environments, stress, pollution, and toxic overload, to name a few. When imbalance happens, energy accumulates in some areas and is depleted in other areas. Areas of accumulation can become stagnant, like blood pooling in the extremities. Stagnant qi loses its energetic quality and the ability to promote health.Areas of depletion become isolated, losing access to healthy qi flow and losing connection to the rest of the body
- 11. PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF ACUPRESSURE 1) ANALGEIC EFFECT 2) SEDATIVE EFFECT 3) HEMOSTASIS 4) IMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT 5) MOTOR RECOVERY
- 12. Many studies have been done in acupressure. 1)Acupressure at Sanyinjiao during the initial session reduced the pain and anxiety typical of dysmenorrhoea. In the self-treatment follow-up session, acupressure at Sanyinjiao significantly reduced menstrual pain but not anxiety. 2)Comparative Effects of Acupressure at Local and Distal Acupuncture Points on Pain Conditions and Autonomic Function in Females with Chronic Neck Pain. Acupressure on local and distal acupuncture points might result in sedation and relaxation thereby reducing chronic neck pain.
- 13. 3)Effects of acupressure therapy for patients having prolonged mechanical ventilation support This results support the suggestion that acupressure therapy could decrease sympathetic stimulation and improve perceived symptoms of dyspnoea and anxiety in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who are using prolonged mechanical ventilation.
- 14. 4) The Effectiveness of Acupressure in Improving the Quality of Sleep of Institutionalized Residents This study confirmed the effectiveness of acupressure in improving the quality of sleep of elderly people and offered a non pharmacological therapy method for sleep-disturbed elderly people 5 )Effect of acupressure on nausea and vomiting during pregnancy Acupressure appears to be effective in symptom control, and alleviation and placebo effects in reducing the symptoms of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.
Editor's Notes
- #8: According to Yoga, this energy is called as ‘Prana’