Acupressure

We know that acupuncture developed over a period of at least 5,000 years from its first beginnings.  Acupressure, which preceded acupuncture by at least another millennium, can claim to be the more ancient healing art.  How this wonderful therapy came into being is unknown.  Perhaps it started because a sage with a blinding headache hit himself on a tree and found relief.  Or it might have begun with a mother pressing points that somehow soothed her crying child.  (The later is probably the case.)  In any event, knowledge was accumulated, studied and shared and eventually passed on so that future generations could enjoy its benefits.

At some point acupressure lost favor in China; it came to be considered inferior to acupuncture in the same way that acupuncture was considered inferior to herbology.  This was not because of lack of efficacy but because of the class structure of ancient China.  In order for a physician to show appropriate respect for his more aristocratic patients, he would touch them as little as possible and, as a scholar himself, he would probably handle his patients sparingly.  Also, upper classes that could afford to spend their time in more scholarly pursuits looked down upon anything resembling manual labor.  The highest, most refined form of medicine then became observation and prescription (herbology) much like today.  The next highest was the elegant method of treatment with needles (acupuncture).  The least refined of these techniques was acupressure -- manipulation of the actual flesh with the hands. Those without means or advanced education, the farmers and country people, were those who used acupressure in their daily lives.  Acupressure became a lower pursuit, something for the peasant class, even though it was highly effective.

The acupressure system of therapy uses the same points on the body as does acupuncture to treatment or prevent diseases.  "Acu" means care or precision.  The therapist takes care to use the exact point.  However, instead of using needles to puncture the skin, the therapist uses hands and fingers to place pressure on the points.  So, when reference is made to acupressure points, remember that these are the same as acupuncture points.