Acupressure for self-care
Learn more about acupressure and how you can practice it on your own to improve your wellbeing.
It's easy to learn
You can easily learn acupressure and will find it readily accessible for self-care practices. It can help with a variety of symptoms ranging from headaches to gastrointestinal discomfort, as well to improve wellbeing.
Application of pressure
When stimulating the acupoints, you can use your thumb or fingers to apply pressure. Pressure should be at a 90 degree angle to the surface of the skin, with firm, steady, and noticeable pressure.
Acupressure should not be painful or uncomfortable. It is possible to cause bruising and lingering pain if pressure is too aggressive.
Apply acupressure multiple times per day for best results. If performing several times throughout the day, you might want to do shorter sessions.
Do
- Start with lighter, sustained pressure until tolerance is determined.
- Slow, gentle kneading of a point using the thumbs or fingers is appropriate in larger muscle groups to relieve pain and stiffness, in areas like the shoulders, neck, and low back.
- Apply pressure to each point for 15-30 seconds to start, extending to 1-2 minutes per point, based on tolerance.
Don’t
- Use deep, unrelenting tissue pressure.
- Use aggressive friction when applying pressure, i.e., excessive rubbing, rapidly rubbing in an isolated area.
- Go to areas of previous tissue damage, i.e., bruises, burns, line insertion site.
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