Total Health Breakthroughs: Free Natural Health Newsletter and Alternative Health Articles

A 5,000 Year Old Treatment for Headaches?

I got a note from my friend Larry Berman last week. He wanted to let me know about a treatment that helped his wife control her migraine headaches. I thought her story might interest you. And even if you do not suffer from headaches, there is a good chance you could benefit.

Larry told me that Sophia has been suffering headaches for several years. She eats a diet that keeps her blood sugar stable. And she avoids processed foods with artificial ingredients. “That has helped,” Larry wrote, “But it didn’t make her headaches go away.”

Larry is the owner of a natural products company, called NatureCast. If there were something Sophia could take to address the cause of her headaches, he ought to know about it. However, nothing seemed to help.

Then a friend offered to teach Sophia the practice of acupressure. She said there were several techniques that might help to alleviate her problem. Sophia studied and applied the techniques. “The results were truly amazing,” Larry said. “Suddenly with the touch of a finger her headaches were gone.”

Larry told me that since she has been practicing acupressure, her headaches have subsided almost completely. The headaches she has had have been less intense and of shorter duration. And she now has a way to stimulate her own self-healing abilities whenever she needs it.

Press your thumb here… No more seasickness…

Sophia’s case is not the only success story I have heard about acupressure. In fact, a few months ago, I went deep-sea fishing with some friends and family. I noticed that my brother, Brad, had an elastic bracelet on his wrist. “What is that for,” I asked.

“See this hard plastic ball on the inside,” he said. “That presses down on a pressure point. It helps to relieve nausea and prevent motion sickness.” It seemed hard to believe that a little pressure on the wrist would have such an effect, but my brother swore by it.

Sure enough, he enjoyed the whole day, rough seas and all. He even drank a few beers. It was quite a different trip than the year before, when he spent nearly two hours hanging off the side of the boat.

Acupressure: How Does it Work?

Those who practice Chinese medicine believe the human body has up to 20 pathways of energy, called meridians. These channels course throughout the body, carrying energy in much the same way that our circulatory system carries blood to and from our organs.

However, these pathways can become blocked. When this flow of energy (or chi) is disrupted, poor health and specific conditions can result. Practitioners use electrical stimulation, needles, or firm pressure with the hand or a tool to stimulate specific pressure points along these meridians.

This can help release muscular tension and promote the circulation of blood. Practitioners also believe that it can remove the blockages, so that the body’s energy flows naturally, stimulating self-healing.

The Chinese are not the only culture to understand the body’s energy fields…

Most of us associate acupuncture and acupressure with Chinese medicine. After all, the Chinese have practiced these healing methods for thousands of years. But they are not alone.

Both the ancient Mayas and the Incas independently documented energy pathways in the body. The Mayans called this energy “wind in the blood.” The Incas talked about “rivers of light” flowing through the “luminous body.”

Sure enough, the pathways and pressure points these two cultures identified are almost identical to the ones that the Chinese have documented.

There is a lot more evidence for acupuncture and acupressure than anecdotes and a long history of use…

The most interesting evidence for this ancient practice comes from modern science – images of the brain itself.

For example, the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, published by Oxford University, reported that, “Specific acupuncture points associated with hearing and vision stimulate the visual and auditory cerebral areas respectively.” Neuro-imaging showed that these areas “light up” when the pressure points were stimulated.

Researchers at U.C. Irvine stimulated a point on the foot, also associated with vision. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans showed that this caused the visual cortex to immediately “light-up.” Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital stimulated a specific point on the wrist, known to relieve nausea. This caused the part of the brain that affects balance and nausea to “light-up.”

These physical effects in the brain from stimulating these points on the body cannot be explained by our current knowledge of anatomy.

“Modern medicine” can’t explain how acupressure works. But we have proof that it does…

In my research for this article, I read numerous peer-reviewed studies on PubMed. Of course, some studies are not conclusive. However, there were dozens of well-controlled, peer-reviewed trials, published in major journals that prove the benefits of acupressure and acupuncture.

There is strong evidence that these healing arts can help to relieve muscle and joint pain and headaches. It can boost the feel-good neuro-chemical serotonin, thus helping with depression. It can help in the treatment of insomnia. It benefits those who suffer nausea from chemotherapy and anesthesia. There are dozens of conditions that have been shown to benefit.

In fact, in 1997, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reviewed numerous studies, concluding that “there is sufficient evidence of acupuncture’s value to expand its use into conventional medicine and encourage further studies.”

But don’t wait for your family doctor to jump on board…

If you or someone you know has a condition you think might benefit from acupressure or acupuncture, look into it. It is perfectly safe. It is relaxing and therapeutic. In the case of acupressure, you can do it yourself. And for many conditions it has proven to be helpful.

But don’t expect to hear about it from your family doctor. Despite the growing evidence and scientific validation, most doctors in the U.S. still view these healing arts as pseudoscience. Dismiss that which you cannot explain.

My friend, Larry Berman, has written about his wife Sophia’s story. And he asked the practitioner who treated her to create a program highlighting the important pressure points on the body. Larry recorded it on DVD. It is an excellent introduction to this beneficial practice.

You can read Sophia’s story and learn more here.

To Your Health,

Jon Herring
Editorial Director
Total Health Breakthroughs