The Power of Touch

In the November issue of Naturally Well Today, I provide natural treatments for the intense pain and agony caused by the migraine headache. I know that many people who suffer from migraines believe that prescription medications and toughing it out are the only options during a migraine attack. In the article, however, I’ll prove to you that migraine sufferers are not destined to become addicted to prescription pain relievers and migraine medications. There are a number of natural cures that can help reduce the number of migraines you get and the severity of those that you do experience.

In the article, I highlight hands-on bodywork as one of the best ways to reduce the stress that so many people identify as a major contributor to their migraines. Bodywork is a great addition to the first-aid arsenal for migraineurs (migraine sufferers), and it is also fantastic for your health in a variety of other ways. Since I only had a short space in which to talk about the benefits of chiropractic massage and massage therapy in the article, I wanted to expand on the benefits of these treatments and other forms of bodywork in this forum.

Hands-On Help

Touching is essential to good health. Bodywork involves many forms of therapeutic touching: pressure, stroking, massaging, rubbing, or moving body parts, joints, and skin. It can relax and soothe away pain, resetting your internal circuit breakers and renewing your energy. When you are touched, your biochemistry changes. If we could examine internally what goes on when you rub your hand on someone’s arm, we’d see dozens of different chemical reactions and a whole array of changes in the electromagnetic spectrum.

Bodywork can lower your cholesterol and your triglycerides. It can also lower your stress hormones and balance and normalize your blood sugar levels. It can bring out the endorphins that elevate your mood naturally. It can normalize prostaglandin levels in your body (hormones that help control blood pressure, among other things), and it can remove workout byproducts that cause soreness in your muscles and joints.

Bodywork also increases your circulation, which cleanses your blood and lymph channels, bringing nutrients in and hauling toxins away. In other words, bodywork does a wonderful job of keeping you healthy in general—or helping you get better if you’re already sick.

Depending on what kind of bodywork you get, it can hurt a little at first, as the bodyworker finds your tight spots and works them out. But all this isn’t just to make you feel good. Our bodies are often repositories of toxins and tensions. Often your body needs some bodywork to help release tension that has been building up.

Massage

Depending on the type of massage you choose, the focus will be on releasing toxins from your muscles and improving your circulation or simply on deep relaxation and stress relief. Either way, choosing to undergo massage therapy will have a powerful healing effect on your body. One of my favorite forms of massage therapy is Shiatsu, which is an Asian form of acupressure massage that can be invigorating as well as relaxing. It helps to stimulate circulation and the flow of lymphatic fluid, release toxins and tensions from the muscles, promote healthy immune system function, and soothe the autonomic nervous system.

Shiatsu is a Japanese word made up of two written characters meaning finger (shi) and pressure (atsu). Like acupressure, it can be considered a variant of acupuncture in that it involves the stimulation of meridians and pressure points, but it doesn't involve needles. It also doesn't use massage oils like most other forms of bodywork. The pressure in shiatsu is sometimes applied over a wide area, not just over acupoints. And a shiatsu practitioner may use palms, elbows, knees, and feet, in addition to fingers, during the massage. Along with pressure, shiatsu involves gentle stretching and manipulation techniques. These techniques create both physical and energetic flexibility and balance in the body.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture has been used to relieve pain for over 5,000 years, and its effectiveness has been demonstrated in scores of clinical studies in recent years. One study, published in the American Journal of Chinese Medicine, reported that of 204 patients suffering from chronic pain, 74 percent experienced significant relief that lasted more than three months following acupuncture treatment.

Acupuncture is a treatment that involves inserting tiny needles into your body at specific points to improve healing energy flow and reduce or eliminate pain. Because this modality involves needles, some people shy away from it. But you shouldn't. The needles are extremely slim, almost like a human hair, and while it's not without sensation, a well-executed insertion is virtually unnoticeable.

Chiropractic

Many people suffering from musculoskeletal pain—especially in the back and neck—swear by chiropractic. A proper chiropractic adjustment can return a troubled body spot, like a stiff neck, aching back, or sore shoulder, to its natural, properly positioned state and increase your flexibility—literally within seconds. Chiropractors are also well versed in healing exercises and stretches, and can show you how to prevent future alignment problems and their associated pain.

No matter which form of bodywork you choose, rest assured that you will be doing your body a huge favor. From migraines to back pain, massage, acupuncture, and chiropractic can be a huge help in relieving current pain and preventing future problems.