From out a contemporary scientific point of view, Acupressure Massage in general, and Thai Acupressure in particular, seems to work for some people in some cases, for instance in treating ailments or health discomforts such as insomnia, headaches, constipation, back pains, stress and anxiety, colds, nausea, hypertension, and neck and shoulder pains, among other health conditions.
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Thai is, for some people it may work sometimes, and for the same people — at other times or for other ailments and discomforts — acupressure treatments don’t seem to work. It means that scientifically, acupressure results are deemed “unreliable,” which also means that the art of acupressure as a treatment option is considered “unscientific.”
In addition, there’s no scientific evidence for the existence of “special” pressure, reflex, or acupressure points, as there isn’t for Sen Energy Lines, Qi Meridians, or Pranic Energy Channels.
Having said all that, one needs to realize that things that cannot be proven scientifically or seen with the eyes or equipment, or occur sometimes and then again sometimes not, doesn’t mean they are “unworthy” or to be neglected. It often means that we (still) don’t know how things work, why things work, and when and under what circumstances. It means that we lack knowledge.
Let’s not forget that we cannot “see” protons, neutrons, and electrons, but firmly believe in them through logical induction, and moreover, it depends on who, when, how and under what circumstances one “looks” at them — through certain human-designed measuring equipment — as for how they behave.
The same counts for gravitational forces in which we actually believe from out a more practical point of view (the stone thrown up in the air will fall down), but which behave very differently under different circumstances or at different locations in the universe.
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Now, giving pressure on so-called Thai Acupressure Points or Thai Acupoints for health benefits is a bit like the above. It can work in certain cases, and because it can, we’ve also built theories around it. It’s all too human.
In the East, it’s thought that acupressure can “unblock” or “release” certain vital, energetic locations (points) along Life Energy Channels and restore the free flow of Vital Life Force Energy for health benefits. In addition, specific points and channels are thought to serve specific functions in the body-mind unit.
From out a scientific perspective, it’s thought that acupressure probably stimulates nerves, increases or reduces certain hormone secretions, activates the release of particular chemicals in the brain, which together can increase feelings of wellbeing, decrease perceptions of pain, and improve our blood circulation.
In fact, it’s not so different from what is thought in Thai Acupressure Massage. As it is, acupressure points may feel hard, tensed, cold, warm, rough, inflexible, numb, or they may be sensitive, painful or irritable when touched, etc. The Thai Massage therapist will work on such pressure points and on the soft tissues around those points to “normalize” these locations (or to “unblock” them, if you like) by decreasing tissue tensions, knots, adhesions, scar tissue, and nerve, muscle, and vein tangles, and so on.
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In addition, it’s rather practical Thai Massage experience that has shown that certain locations, that is, certain points in the body, seem to be more prone to become “unhealthy” by constricting energy flow and a healthy blood circulation and nervous activity. Moreover, specific locations seem to influence specific organs or functions, such as the eyes, ears, intestines, genitals, or concentration abilities, mood, sleep patterns, and so on, which forms the basis for acupressure point charts and corresponding therapeutic indications for each acupoint.
So, does Thai Acupressure really works? Yes, it does, sometimes for some people for certain ailments under specific circumstances. The latter, that is, “specific circumstances” is particularly important to keep in mind because curing or alleviating health issues or discomforts is usually a holistic endeavor.
It actually means that multiple personal conditions contribute to either health or illness, and solving only one issue or only the symptoms often doesn’t structurally resolve health problems. It may be that a patient also needs to change their diet, relationships, job or career, sedentary behavior, or their living environment, and so on, to really become healthy.
Therefore, Thai Acupressure treatments can be part of the solutions needed to regain health, sometimes contributing substantially to resolving issues but sometimes very little. At any rate, it won’t hurt to give it a try (well, to be honest, 🙂 sometimes it does hurt a bit).
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