How to treat back pain naturally with acupressure
Table of contents
1 Where does back pain come from?
2 What is acupressure?
3 Practice exercise for everyday life
4 Acupressure mat: effect and mode of operation
And how acupressure for neck pain and acupressure for back pain activates your natural self-healing powers
Let's face it, everyday life can be pretty stressful: we get up in the morning, have breakfast, rush off to work, return home after eight hours, cook our dinner - if at all - then it's off to bed and the tape starts playing all over again. Not to mention the children that some of us are raising on the side. Our modern life has become quite fast-paced, more and more things have to be done in the shortest possible time. Many of us also carry around a painful little package called back pain. It can happen that we get out of balance.
According to a study by the DAK health insurance fund, back pain is the Second most common single diagnosis for sick leave in Germany. The number of hospital treatments reached an all-time high in 2016, according to the Health Report. This rings alarm bells, because apparently our health is suffering as a result of our modern lifestyle.
Now, what if there was some kind of relief for this problem, which obviously the majority of the population suffers from, that each of us could practice and conveniently incorporate into our daily lives? Sounds like Magic? It is a little, but above all it is a Possibility of self-helpwith which you can remove the annoying Treat back pain alternatively and provide relaxation for both body and mind. Because the self-healing power is in you, it needs neither pills nor injections from the doctor.
In addition, we share the story of a back pain sufferer that will encourage you and finally give you tips on how you can take back pain into your own hands in the future with the help of the Shakti acupressure mat . We want to open up a world of self-healing for all back pain sufferers and show them that there are ways to get a grip on back pain in a natural way, so that they can finally go through life with less pain and more joy.
Ouch, my back hurts! - Where does my back pain come from?
Almost all of us suffer from a long-lasting back pain at least once in our lives. So the good news is that you're not alone in this. About 85% of people recover completely from it after a few months. Still, there are a few among us who haven't fared as well and continue to struggle with back pain. That's when simple activities like getting up in the morning or doing a little lifting can become a challenge. To understand causes and effects, we asked an expert to explain in more detail. Sascha Siebenäuger, a physiotherapist and specialist has been working with back pain patients for years. For an interview, he gave us a little of his time.
So what's the deal with nasty back pain, we wanted to know? According to Sascha Siebenäuger are 80% of back pain unspecific. "This means that the back pain is not due to a structure or a specific location, such as the Intervertebral disc, but several factors play a role that can ultimately trigger the back pain. That makes the back pain unspecific", shares the physiotherapist with us in conversation.
The special thing about non-specific Back pain is the fact that precisely no cause responsible for the pain can be found, because our back consists of many muscles, bones, joints, Intervertebral discs and ribbons. The Main trigger for tensions are known, however, monotonous attitude at the workplace and Stress.
Furthermore, Sascha Siebenäuger explains that in the treatment of chronic back pain, i.e. pain that lasts longer than three months, several bio-psycho-social factors are to blame. These would arise mainly from the attitude to the pain itself, from possible insecurities of doctors, therapists and the own environment. Most people stop loading the back and miss the return to activity. Rest in itself is good for the back at first, but you run the risk of developing chronic back pain if you restrict your movement too much.
We remember: It is necessary to take it easy when you have back pain, but you should not develop a movement pattern that you use for a long time. This is because relieving postures cause tension, which in turn causes pain. This leads to a perpetual vicious circle. It is therefore important to return to a normal movement pattern at some point.
Give the West Natural Chinese Healing Art: What is Acupressure?
Acupressure has its roots in China and is known as an alternative healing method. It is based on the acupuncture
Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which was developed about 5000 years ago. As we are familiar with the concepts of the Western medical world, this concept may sometimes seem mysterious or unfamiliar to us. This is because in the Western world things work a little differently, mostly according to the following principle: we get sick, we develop symptoms, we stop the symptoms and we feel better. The doctor is happy because he has done his job, however the cause of our pain is neither known nor treated.
In Eastern medicine, when we experience pain, it is assumed that our energy system, also called Qi , is disturbed. The process is different here: our energy flow is disturbed, we develop symptoms that show us where the imbalance lies, the treatment corrects the imbalance. So the point is to understand where the symptoms are coming from, not just to fix them as quickly as possible. Sounds sensible, doesn't it?
Our Qi or life energy runs along meridians in the body. These meridians carry our Qi to the organs and cells of our body. You can think of this system as arteries that get smaller and smaller. They allow all that our body needs to be healthy to flow into our cells.
Acupressure points are individual points along these meridians, located near the surface of the body (though some of them are very far under the skin). Just think of acupressure points as little fountains found along a large channel. When you press these little fountains, our Qi is activated and our life energy can bubble away again without any problems.
The bladder meridian: your best friend for back pain
Now let's get to the exciting part, which is how acupressure for neck pain and acupressure for back pain can specifically help you. The bladder meridian is your best friend for back pain, because it is the meridian that runs once completely along your back and even further. It originates in the inner corner of your eye, travels along your head and neck down to your back. It is the strongest meridian in your body and can do a lot: namely, when it reaches your neck, the bladder meridian splits into two and runs in two strands down along the back and outside of your legs, ending at the nail angle of the two little toes.
So this meridian is responsible for you sitting up straight, having an upright posture when walking, and your back carrying you day in and day out through everyday life. Here you can see the exact points of the bladder mer idian.
Practice exercise for everyday life
You don't have to be an expert to use acupressure for the neck and back to get through your day better. There are simple exercises that can help you strengthen your back and make it pain-free in the long run. We have selected one exercise for you here. All you need is a sock with two tennis balls and a little patience, because here too, good things take time.
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Breathing and arriving
Stand up straight, legs hip-width apart, and breathe in and out into your belly for a while that feels good to you. -
Stretch your bladder meridian
Sit on the floor and stretch your legs out together in front of you. With the inhalation you now stretch your arms upwards and with the exhalation you lean upright over your stretched legs. Try to keep your back straight and not arched. If you can touch your toes with your hands, you can grab them. Otherwise you can use a towel or a belt to help you.
Work your way along the bladder meridian.
Now lie on your back and place the sock with the two tennis balls under your neck. Bend your legs so that your feet are flat on the floor under your knees. Now carefully lift your hips off the floor in your rhythm and lower them again so that you are balancing your entire body weight on the tennis balls. Using the tennis balls, work your way down along the bladder meridian so that the acupressure points for back pain are stimulated and your Qi can flow more freely. Stop the exercise or take a break whenever it becomes too painful. Try to put pressure on the acupressure points for back pain by gently rolling the tennis balls back and forth. You don't have to treat every point, but you can focus only on the points that are stressing you the most at the moment.
Is acupressure more effective than physiotherapy for back pain? A scientific study.
A publication in the British Medical Journal states that acupressure is even more effective for back pain than conventional physiotherapy. In any case, this is the conclusion of a study from Taiwan in which scientists examined 129 patients with chronic back pain in the lumbar region. The subjects were divided into two groups, 64 patients were prescribed six acupressure sessions and 65 patients were treated with normal physiotherapy. The outcome was studied both immediately after the sessions and after 6 months.
The acupressure group experienced an 89% reduction in activity limitation compared to the group treated with standard physical therapy. The acupressure patients also noted greater treatment success when it came to pain related to daily work or leisure.
This study joins many other studies that prove acupressure for neck pain and acupressure for back pain are helpful, both in relieving discomfort and improving mobility.
"Since I have been using the ShaktiMat, my pain has been 80% less" - A testimonial.
Scientific studies are all well and good, but somehow we wanted more for this article. We wanted real people to tell us about their symptoms and how they managed them. To do this, we wrote to a few of our customers who we knew suffered from back pain and asked them to talk to us. Angelika responded and was willing to share her experience with the Shakti Mat with us and our readers. She wrote us from Japan, where she also had her Shakti Mat with her, next stop was Georgia for hiking. Wow, we thought, that doesn't sound like back pain at all. Lucky us! But let's let Angelika tell her story from the beginning.
The nasty back pain in the lower back started 4 years ago. At first, she says, it was very mild and gradual, then became more and more severe. "Especially in the morning," she tells us, "it was the most difficult." She often found it difficult to get out of bed. Putting on pants standing up - that was not even a thought. She saw three therapists, went to physiotherapy and asked osteopaths for help. The whole thing dragged on and on, but nothing really helped her except for a statement that her stomach was also stuck and that the pain could also come from that.
Then Angelika came across the Shakti Mat and decided to give the whole thing a chance. She used the relaxation mat mainly in the evening before going to sleep. "The spots on the lower back that hurt when you move hurt the longest, even on the mat," she shares with us. The other areas would transition more quickly to feeling warm. She sleeps more deeply when she uses the Shakti Mat. "Sometimes I leave it out when I'm too tired, but regret it right afterwards because I sleepless deeply". She notices that her stomach starts to work and gurgle when she lies on the mat for back pain.
Overall, she says, her back pain is much less. "If I had to put it into numbers, it's about 80% less," she says. Still, she says, the annoying back pain isn't gone, but she hopes it will get better with time.
Click here for more testimonials of our customers in the treatment of back pain with the Shakti Mat.
The mystery of the acupressure mat: effect and functioning
Self-healing with the acupressure mat back pain is neither hocus-pocus nor magic. It can be explained and understood quite simply. Physiotherapist Sascha Siebenäuger explains this in our conversation: "If you can no longer stand up straight due to back pain, then you go into a stooped relief posture. So you try to compensate for the pain, which in turn requires more muscular activity and can lead to tension. The acupressure mat exercises intervene well at this stage because you're consciously and mindfully moving your muscles from a tense position to a relaxed position."
Furthermore, Sascha Siebenäuger, who has learned manual therapy back pain, explains that the circulation-promoting properties create heat in the back and can thus stimulate the metabolism. He adds that this also promotes the uptake and removal of physiological substances.
Above all, however, the relaxation mat, which functions like a nail board, has an effect, because as a person affected, you actively do something yourself against the back pain and can thus also treat, for example, lumbago naturally and back pain alternatively. This is like back pain yoga: "One of the greatest chances of success to relieve pain is the self-activity and the belief in the improvement, thereby the health is already promoted," says Sascha Siebenäuger. In addition, the body is more likely to regenerate during sleep with the help of the health mat and thus has the best conditions to bring about pain relief.
The remedy for back pain: natural remedy Shakti Mat
The ShaktiMat for the treatment of back pain can be imagined as a mat with many sharp spikes. It can happen that your body has to get used to this unusual object at first. So start with a thin top and place the Shakti Mat on your bed or a thick carpet. Give your body three to four times to get used to the spikes and the experience, if you are very sensitive it can take a little longer. Then you can slowly increase until you are lying with naked skin on a solid surface, this is virtually the highest level of difficulty of the Shakti Mat.
You can practice the following exercises with the Shakti Mat anywhere:
- Lie straight with your back on the Shakti Mat, starting at the neck and stretching your arms out to the sides. Enjoy the silence and concentrate on your breathing.
- Lie with your back on the Shakti Mat, bend your legs and pull them towards you. Depending on how intense you want it to be, you can either bring your knees closer to your chest or place them further away from your body. Things can get pretty prickly here!
- If you want to focus on your lower back, you can also place only your butt and lower back on the Shakti Mat. Use the mat in landscape format for this.
In total, you can use the Shakti Mat for about 20 minutes or even longer. Let me tell you, the stinging experience is worth it. Just don't worry, after using it, your back can get quite red, which is a testament to good circulation.
Above all, you can expect to reach a state of deep relaxation and pain relief in the entire back area. Muscular relaxation, relief for the spine and pinched nerves as well as improved circulation will occur. Stress is relieved and you can really relax. Use the Shakti Mat as a reward for your back, which carries you day in and day out through the day.
It is a good idea to use the Shakti Mat before going to bed, at least that is what most of our Shakti Mat users do. This makes it easy for you to incorporate the mat into your bedtime routine and thus find a deep and healthy sleep. On Soundcloud, we've put together a Shakti Mat playlist for beautiful dreams. So that you can start the day active and full of power in the future - without annoying back pain that prevents you from going into full swing.
If you would like to exchange ideas with other back pain patients who use an acupressure mat, you can do so in the Facebook group Acupressure Mat.
We hope you enjoyed this article, which we wrote for you with a lot of love and research. If you have any questions or feedback about the article, please feel free to write us here.
Namasté,
Karina
About the author
Karina Schönberger
Karina has been practicing yoga and meditation regularly for many years and owes her creativity in her everyday work to this practice. She studied something with media, tried her hand at marketing, events and PR and finally decided to work for herself. Today she lives in Lisbon and loves to write about topics like health, nutrition, yoga, meditation and travel. Born in Kazakhstan, she believes above all that everyone deserves a healthy and happy life and has the power to heal themselves. Currently, she is thinking about where to go next.
Image source back woman: https://unsplash.com/photos/B5LZDN_t_fc (royalty free)
Image source back man: https://unsplash.com/photos/CEM52sAHR80 (royalty free)
Related books, links and studies that helped us write this article:
The acupressure points of the bladder meridian at a glance:
https://www.naturmed.de/blog/akupunkturpunkte-uebersicht/akupunkturpunkte-des-blasenmeridian/
Study from Taiwan comparing acupressure and physiotherapy: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/02/060217092325.htm
Where is my pain coming from?
http://physiomeetsscience.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Woher-kommen-meine-Schmerzen-Jonas-Weber.pdf
Acupressure and Reflexology For Dummies by Bobbi Dempsey and Synthia Andrews
Acupressure for Backache MADE EASY - An Illustrated Self Treatment Guide by Dr. Krishna N. Sharma