Live Whole Health #90: Acupressure for head and neck relief

Have you ever woken up with a crick in your neck? Is poor posture or stress causing your head to pound? Before you take a pill, consider trying this four-minute acupressure practice for head and neck relief.

Acupressure is a massage therapy technique based in ancient traditions and is over 3,000 years old. Massage therapy and acupressure have many physiological and general well-being benefits.

Dr. Lisa Lourey, licensed acupuncturist at the Omaha VA Medical Center, presents an acupressure self-care routine for headaches. Next time you have a headache, you may offer yourself the benefits of this self-massage routine. If you’re unsure if this routine is appropriate for you due to health concerns, please consult your health care provider before using.

Tips

• Always wash hands thoroughly before and after practice.
• Remove jewelry, such as watch, rings, bracelet, earrings, necklace.
• Loosen restrictive clothing.
• Be in a comfortable position.
• Remove environmental distractions, like your phone or computer, except for the screen you are following along with.
• You may wish to play soothing background sound or music.
• Have drinking water available.

Precautions

• Avoid massage to any areas of swelling, redness, rash or broken skin.
• If you have a bleeding disorder condition or take medication to thin your blood, use light pressure.
• Do not use during pregnancy.

While acupressure can be one tool to help occasional pain, you may be looking for other new ways to manage chronic pain. A new resource you may want to tune into is the Whole Health Podcast Series for Pain Management. This series provides self-care and complementary and integrative health modalities that you can use to reduce the impact of chronic pain and improve your health and well-being. This new podcast uses the Circle of Health to teach you to manage chronic pain with a Whole Health approach. Listen to these podcasts to supplement your VA pain management program.