Back pain can hit anytime, anywhere. You could be at work, at home, out and about or in transit. What is your first response to the pain? Do you immediately call one of your practitioners to book in for a treatment (yes, this is one of the best things you can do!) or do you throw down some pain-killing medication in hope to keep moving until you can get help? Perhaps you have frequent back pain and are resigned to a life of discomfort and restricted activity.
Whatever your scenario, I’m about to change the way you respond to back pain. Firstly, I cannot emphasise enough just how important it is to get some help with back pain from a qualified practitioner. Without correcting structural stress, other areas such as digestion and your nervous system can begin to cease up. Kinesiologists such as myself work to:
- realign the body so that muscles and organs are not being pulled in the wrong direction
- release tension held within the physical body, and
- discover what other aspects are related to the pain such as emotional and mental stress.
However, in the meantime there are some fantastic points on your body that you can massage to help release natural painkillers and relieve tension! These ancient points are within the Traditional Chinese Medicine system so not only are you relieving your physical body of pain, you’re balancing your mind, body and spirit and encouraging your body to heal.
Hand point for pain
This point must be one of the most well-known and it’s obvious why – it’s easy to locate and massage. Shown here on the left, find the bone in your hand that joins onto your index finger. The point lies halfway along this bone. Press in with decent pressure and you should feel pain. If you don’t feel pain, keep pressing along the bone until you find the sore point as pressing in will help release natural painkillers within your body. You don’t need to press too hard and a few minutes should be enough. You can use both hands.
Foot point for pain
Find the joint on the top of your foot, between your big toe and second toe (Google ‘Liver 3 acupoint’). Gently massage this area on both feet to relieve your back pain. You can massage this point whilst lying down or sitting. If you are unsure as to whether you are hitting the right area, then massage in a large circle and you’ll be sure to hit the right spot.
Point for neck pain and headaches
A common side effect of back pain is neck pain and headaches. This can simply be tension located in your neck or it can be caused by misalignment and tension in the lower parts of your spine which in-turn pull on the rest of your body. This last point is also used as a pressure point in massage and physiotherapy and it feels great to massage. Find the bone at the base of your skull that’s behind your ear. Move your fingers toward your spine and you’ll find a small depression – this is place to massage on both sides for a few minutes (Google ‘Gall Bladder 20 acupoint).
Try each of these techniques and you’ll notice that each time one or more of these points will be best. You can use them as a first aid response until you can get some help to get your body back into balance and perhaps even start to prevent further injury! If you need help to heal your back pain, you can book online or call (02) 6295 0400.
Kate
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