Spas have grown in popularity in recent years thanks to the well-known health advantages of spa treatments. These therapies improve overall health by increasing the flow of oxygen and nutrients to all body cells and throughout the system. Most people think of massages when they think about spa services. There are, however, numerous forms of therapies.

In Balance Wellness offers a variety of massage treatments, including acupressure massage. Acupressure is direct pressure applied to a specific point in the body. Massage is the relaxing treatment of the body’s soft tissues to relieve pain or stress.

But acupressure and massage have distinctive characteristics that set them apart. What are they? Let’s take a look!

What is acupressure?

Acupressure goes way back and has been a part of traditional Chinese Medicine similar to acupuncture but involves fingertip pressure rather than needles.

Acupressure can assist with various illnesses, including motion sickness, headaches, and muscle discomfort. Acupressure benefits are obtained by utilizing pressure points throughout the energy pathways in the body to stimulate the free flow of energy or qi.

Pressure is used to trigger points or acupuncture points during treatment. It aims to remove what they call “blockages.” Pressure is applied using equipment, the elbow, or the hands. Although it is difficult to know precisely what acupressure accomplishes, some believe it causes the release of endorphins. These are the body’s natural pain-relieving compounds.

Most people use acupressure to treat a problem like:

Insomnia
Stress control
Headache
Cramps during menstruation
Morning sickness, nausea, and vomiting during pregnancy

Is acupressure safe?

Acupressure should be comfortable. However, if it feels painful, tell your practitioner immediately.

People who undergo acupressure treatment will sometimes experience bruising and swelling in the treatment areas. You may also feel dizzy for a short time, but it will eventually pass.

Pressure is applied gently over sensitive parts, such as the face. If you’re pregnant, see your doctor before doing acupressure. Acupressure is not commonly performed on the abdomen, certain parts of the leg, and lower back.

What is massage?

Massage is an excellent method for relaxation, pain treatment, muscular tension release, and more. Massage therapy manipulates muscles and other soft tissues in the body using various pressures, motions, and methods. Massage treatment may help you relax, reduce pain from symptoms, heal from injuries, and improve your overall health by calming your nervous system.

The word “massage therapy” refers to a variety of approaches. Swedish or classical massage is the most popular treatment in Western nations. It is the foundation of most massage training programs. Other types of massage include sports massage, clinical massage to achieve particular purposes such as muscular spasm relief, and massage traditions originated from Eastern cultures such as Shiatsu.

A massage can be beneficial for several reasons. It helps with underlying pain and improves a person’s overall health. However, you should consult your doctor and your massage therapist if you have a medical issue. For pregnant people, a prenatal massage can assist in relieving discomfort and swelling.

Now that we know acupressure and massage as different methods, let’s look into them together.

How do acupressure points work in massage?

Different acupressure massage treatment types rely on different rhythms, pressure, and procedures. Acupressure massage concentrates on the body’s main spots. Specific pressure is performed on critical areas of the body to ease pain (trigger points). Putting pressure on these trigger points aims to regain the body’s natural equilibrium.

To avoid illnesses, acupressure massage treatment enhances and activates the body’s natural healing capabilities. At In Balance Wellness, your acupressure massage therapy practitioner will press on specific spots to stimulate energy flow to an area of the body that is experiencing sickness or discomfort, allowing it to recover more rapidly.

Acupressure massage therapy treats two acupressure sites.

Local Points: The therapist stimulates Acupressure points to reduce discomfort in the area of the body where the patient is feeling pain or stress.

Trigger Points: Acupressure points are stimulated by the therapist to ease pain, stress, or other issues in another portion of the body, which may be far from the location being treated.

Your massage therapist examines the acupoint triggering mechanism and how it operates throughout human energy pathways known as meridians. The meridians are routes that link acupressure sites as well as internal organs.

What is acupressure massage used for?

You must first understand that acupressure massage does not intend to treat specific health conditions. This complimentary Medicine is intended to aid the body’s ability to heal. Following acupressure therapy, many people have found improvement from the following common issues:

Headaches
Neck discomfort
Stress
Anxiety
Back pain
Muscle soreness
High blood pressure
Nausea caused by chemotherapy
Disruptions in sleep
Dental pain
Pain due to labor

Acupressure can be used alone or with other alternative therapies to speed up healing and enhance your overall well-being. The time and type of treatment are entirely up to you. So, choose between a brief, soothing head and neck treatment that lasts around 20 minutes or a whole-body acupressure massage that lasts approximately an hour.

Is acupressure massage better than a regular massage?

Acupressure massage is a comprehensive bodywork technique that is healthy for the mind, body, and emotions. They are scarcely a hair’s breadth apart because they address a broad spectrum of pain issues, improve circulation, and sleep quality, and provide several other health advantages. Their concepts and applications differ.

Most massage treatments begin with light pressure and progressively increase to hard stress as the therapist works on the body. Additionally, specific regions are treated using massage treatment, which entails the therapist going right to the site of any discomfort in the body. On the other hand, acupressure is based on the stimulation of acupoints with finger pressure to balance the flow of energy in the meridians, which is essential in alleviating pain.

You will gain a lot from the benefits of acupressure if the underlying reason for your health issue is more complex than just muscular tension. You’re committed to recharging your body’s vital energy since doing so will lower your heart rate, blood pressure, and stress levels.

Our takeaway

Acupressure is often thought to activate your body’s inherent healing capacities. As a result, it enables the body and its systems to relieve pain, injury, or illness.

Pain, motion sickness, arthritis, anxiety, tension, and other conditions are among the many illnesses that may be treated by acupressure massage treatment. Additionally, it is considered a non-invasive therapy approach and relatively safe in actual practice.