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Getting Rid of Stress
Acupressure: The Right Touch
“I tried everything to get rid of my shoulder pain,” says Esther DeRanch of Allentown. “Medication, chiropractor—nothing worked. After one acupressure session, the pain was gone.”
Sound like a new miracle treatment? Acupressure is a long-established “complemen-tary” therapy, but unlike acupuncture, is still uncommon in the United States. “It involves the same points in the body as acupuncture,” says Chris Christopher, acupressurist at Lehigh Valley Hospital’s Center for Pain Management, “but the therapist uses finger pressure instead of needles.”
During a session, Christopher presses on about 106 different muscles, reducing lactic acid buildup and allowing blood and oxygen into the tissues to aid in healing. Acupressure can help back and shoulder pain, pinched nerves, sinus conditions, migraines, Lyme disease, fibromyalgia and even attention deficit disorder.
“The most common condition we treat is chronic low back pain,” says Bruce Nicholson, M.D., director of the Center for Pain Management. He’s enthusiastic about being able to offer acupressure, and his patients are usually eager to try it. “Many people want to stop taking medication,” he says. “Acupressure is noninvasive, less expensive and doesn’t have side effects.”
Like Esther DeRanch, most people get relief in their first session, but Christopher advises coming weekly for a few weeks, then monthly, to maintain that relief. “It’s unrealistic to expect pain that’s been constant for months to disappear permanently with one treatment,” Nicholson says. In fact, some people have monthly acupressure treatments to keep their muscles oxygenated and help prevent pain. The therapy costs $40 to $60 a session; health insurance may cover it with a doctor’s recommendation or as part of accident rehabilitation.
Regular acupressure treatments have cleared up not only DeRanch’s shoulder pain but also a sinus condition and acute pain above her ear that no one could diagnose. “I cannot emphasize enough the relief I have received,” she says. “I feel healthier than I have in years.”
Want to Know More? For a brochure on acupressure (available at more than one Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network site), call 610-402-CARE.
This page last updated 2/12/08 04:08 PM
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