Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/ixvp4So9CZM   If you’re one the the 80% of Americans suffering from an aching back, a recently published study from the University of Michigan suggests you try acupressure on yourself.     Researchers there report a preliminary study of 67 middle-aged subjects who were randomized into groups to receive 6 weeks of either acupressure or conventional physical therapy.  Outcome measures included pain, fatigue, and sleep quality.   Those self-administering either relaxing or stimulating acupressure with a wooden stick, a pencil tip eraser, or a fingertip enjoyed a 35% reduction in back pain and a 26% reduction in fatigue symptoms.  The acupressure failed to improve sleep patterns.   This small study will be expanded, but it does show that Eastern medicine has a definite role in the management of back pain.  If you do suffer from this common problem, I’d suggest you visit an Eastern medicine practitioner to learn a proper acupressure technique.   Susan Lynn Murphy, Richard Edmund Harris,