Sensei's Meridian Therapy Page

Advice and Shintaikido Meridian Therapy First Aid

Sensei's Advice Corner

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Disclaimer: Any information from Kaiso Dave Bendigkeit or this website is not intended to be a medical solution to your problems, and should only be undertaken after consulting a qualified physician. Any information about Acupressure and Massage procedures and Oil & Herbal medicines found on this web site is not medical advice but rather general information of an educational nature. Therefore, it should not take the place of medical advice from medical professionals such as physicians or pharmacists for the treatment of particular medical problems.

Shintaikido Meridian Therapy

Lower Back Pain

Lower back pain can have many causes. The most common is strained muscles. Some other causes can be disk problems in the lumbar region, strained tendons, or fever due to Flu-like illnesses. If you have the Flu, follow your usual procedures like plenty of rest, fluids, and any medications recommended by your physician. In the case of disk problems, there are treatments in acupressure that can be applied. However, I'll not go into them here, since they require some rather involved diagnostic procedures. See your Physician first. In this entry, I'll deal with massage and meridian points that can help to alleviate the pain and physical stress of lower back problems caused by strained muscles.

1. Do all of the usual things that you probably know about like don't lift using your back. Use your legs. Fat stomachs add to lower back stress. I know this from personal experience! Wearing a back support for labor can be very helpful.

2. Over the counter pain remedies are okay for occasional symptoms. Anti-inflammatory drugs (even the over-the-counter kind) tend to shrink the inflamed tissue in joints (like between the vertebrae) and then the joint tissue can harden, making the problem much worse. Take it easy. Be NICE to yourself!

3. Daily massage of a fairly deep, ironing kind, as practiced in Shintaikido Meridian Therapy, can be very helpful in reducing the strain on muscles. Massage should be performed on the entire back and buttocks. DO NOT MASSAGE THE SPINE!!! Do not massage ripped muscle tissue. See you physician. Incidentally, the Consumer Health Digest (#01-19), reports a study which concludes that "massage beats acupuncture for back pain". You can read the article at http://www.ncahf.org/digest/01-19.html

4. Cold packs for 20 minutes if there is fever or swelling; Hot packs for 20 minutes if normal temperature and no swelling.

5. Acupressure points ST-41, ST-36, BL-57, ST-34, BL-22, 23, 25, 47, GB-29, BL-31 & 32, in that order, help to alleviate the swelling and pain.

6. Keeping moving and stretching can help as long as there is no ripped muscle tissue.

8. BE NICE TO YOURSELF!!! Take a soothing bath with some nice fragrance.

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