Using Acupressure Massage to Relieve Your Back Pain

When you’re looking for back pain relief, the first thing you need to know is what’s causing your pain. The vast majority of back pain is muscle related, usually due to sports injuries, heavy lifting, and repetitive use, or just the day-to-day wear and tear on your body. And if you’re looking for natural, non-invasive pain relief, Acupressure Massage is an excellent option.

Acupressure is a form of massage based on the same pressure points as acupuncture, but without the needles. It can be used to treat the whole body, but is particularly effective for back pain relief. The massage component calms and eases aching muscles, even while manipulation of specific acu-points is stimulating the body’s self-curative abilities and removing toxic buildup in the muscles. And Acupressure Massage can be used in conjunction with chiropractic and physiotherapy to bring quick and lasting results.

The most common causes of back pain are:

1. Tense Muscles

We know that our muscles tend to tense up when we’re feeling stressed, even when we’re not conscious that it’s happening. There is a scientific reason for this. When our minds are stressed, our bodies release hormones that send signals that cause our muscles to tense up, ready for action. It’s a caveman response that would have kept you physically on edge and ready to deal with the danger of a saber toothed tiger on the prowl.

In the modern age, it simply results in that stiffness and aching in your neck, shoulders, and upper back when you’ve been driving for a long time, or working on your computer for hours on end, or dealing with difficult people/situations. Acupressure Massage is highly effective at relieving this type of back pain because it not only stretches and relaxes the tight muscles, it can also open the pathways to improve the flow of energy, resulting in less stress and/or tension.

2. Spasms

When muscles tense for too long, painful muscle spasms can occur. A muscle spasm is a spontaneous and abnormal contraction of the muscles that can’t be relieved simply by choosing to relax. A muscle spasm that affects nerve roots or the spinal cord can result in serious back pain and is usually treated with rest and prescription drugs.

Acupressure Massage is one of the few hands-on treatments available for treating muscle spasms. Using acu-points on the surface of the body, a trained therapist can restore the flow of oxygen and energy through the muscles, varying the degree of pressure according to what is comfortable. This helps the body to restore itself more quickly and brings natural pain relief.

3. Strains and Sprains

These types of back pain are most commonly the result of physical work, like lifting or pushing heavy objects, or sports that result in a jolt to the back.

A strain is a stretching or tearing of a muscle or a tendon, those fibrous tissues that connect your muscles to your bones. A sprain is, likewise, a stretch or a tear, but in a ligament; the tissues that connect bone to bone.
A pulled back muscle (thoracic strain) will typically resolve in weeks with rest and treatment, a muscle tear will require months to mend. Either way, resting your back is the first course of treatment; ice and heat can also help to relieve pain and inflammation.

But Acupressure Massage will help to increase blood flow to the affected muscles, restoring the oxygen that your muscles need in order to heal themselves. Restoring balance to your whole body via acu-points can speed up recovery time and bring quick back pain relief as well.

Sometimes you’ll need to see a doctor to rule out any underlying conditions, but even if the cause of your back pain turns out to be as serious as arthritis or damaged disks requiring surgery or prescription drug therapy, Acupressure can be an effective and valuable part of your pain management regime.
Book an appointment with a Certified Message Specialist at Easy Cozy today and get your back, back in motion.