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If you’ve ever accidentally brushed your hand against a hot stove, you’ll probably remember immediately clutching the burn with your other hand—an instinct that seems to help relieve the pain. In contrast, we often pull back in fear if someone else tries to touch a wound. Although psychologists have long recognized this distinction, no one properly understood the cognitive mechanisms that allow reflexive self-touch—rather than a stranger’s touch—to soothe pain. A new study published online September in Current Biology suggests that touching an injured area on one’s own body reduces pain by enhancing the brain’s map of the body in a way that touch from another cannot mimic. In the study cognitive neuro­scientist Marjolein Kammers of University College London and her colleagues asked blindfolded par­ticipants to place their index and ring fingers in tubs of warm water while their middle fingers rested in cool water, a common experimental trick that creates the illusion that the middle fingers are burning hot. When the participants withdrew from the water and touched only their middle fingers of both hands together or joined only their outer fingers, they found little relief. Touching all three fingers to an experimenter’s hand also failed to reduce pain. Only when the participants entwined their three affected fingers on both hands did they soothe themselves, diminishing perceived pain by 64 percent. Uniting two parts of the same body, Kammers explains, sends diverse signals to the brain about temperature, spatial position and identity that can come only from self-contact. In this case, bringing all three fingers together probably provided the brain with enough comparative information to readjust its interpretation of skin temperature on each finger. “When you get input from many different signals, the brain increases the coherence of its body map, which reduces acute pain,” Kammers says. The new findings parallel previous work demonstrating that adding more sensory input can relieve chronic phantom limb pain experienced by some amputees: when a mirror tricks the brain into thinking the body is whole again, the pain subsides. This article was originally published with the title “A Soothing Touch” in SA Mind 21, 6, 8 (January 2011) doi:10.1038/scientificamericanmind0111-8a

Is it good to rub pressure points?

Key Pressure Points to Relieve Tension – Massage School Colorado Massages may be one of the best activities for relaxation and stress relief. Unfortunately, we sometimes don’t have the time for a massage when we need it most. That’s where pressure points come in.

1. If you know how to use them, you can give yourself a calming stress-relief session in minutes.
2. It may not be as luxurious as visiting a licensed, but you can massage your own pressure points anytime, anywhere.
3. What are Pressure Points? Pressure point stimulation, or acupressure, has been used for thousands of years in Asian medicine as a treatment for a wide variety of ailments.

Chinese medical theory suggests that each pressure point is associated with the health of a specific organ in the body, though this claim is disputed by some Western practitioners.

Most massage therapists and physicians agree that pressure point stimulation can lead to reduced muscle tension, improved circulation and stimulation of endorphins (feel-good hormones). Where are Pressure Points Located? Head

Do you ever get headaches? Massaging your temples can be a simple way to get fast relief without medicine. Your temples are the flat parts of your skull located between your eyes and ears. Just apply pressure with your fingers and work them in a circular motion for several minutes.

Soon, you’ll begin to feel at ease and your headache may disappear. Neck Your neck can also hold a lot of tension, especially if work or school requires you to use a computer all day. Massage your neck’s pressure points by simultaneously pressing your fingers on either side of the muscles surrounding your upper spine.

Work your way up and down the neck for several minutes. Avoid putting pressure directly on the spine. Hand Tension can be held in some surprising places—even your hands. Another pressure point can be found in the upper part of the web between your thumb and index fingers.

Apply firm pressure and massage the area for 5 seconds, repeating as many times as you like. Don’t forget to work the pressure points on both of your hands. Back The pressure points on your back are easiest to massage with the help of a friend, but it is possible to reach some of them yourself. The muscles along your spine contain pressure points from the top of your neck to the bottom of your back.

Just as you would with your neck, massage both sides of the spine’s surrounding muscle, without applying pressure to the spine itself. Move up and down the back slowly and evenly. Foot Many of us spend all day on our feet, so it makes sense that we would hold a lot of tension in them.

It feels great to ease some of that tightness with a few minutes of pressure point stimulation. Just behind the ball of your foot (the large round part behind your big toe), you’ll find a pressure point. Gently massage it to alleviate foot pain or tension. You can also apply pressure to the bottom of your heel and below each of your toes for another relaxing sensation.

Make a Career Out of Helping People Relax Pressure points are just one aspect of the greater field of, If you enjoy learning about the human body and the way it works, you might consider a career as a licensed, These professionals are taught how to help people relax, ease tension and reduce pain through therapeutic touch.

IBMC College offers a that can be completed in as little as 10 months. In addition to courses taught by experienced licensed Massage Therapists, students also gain by working in the college’s professional, Learn more about the, or call 800-495-2669 to learn more about IBMC College’s campuses in, and, Colorado.

: Key Pressure Points to Relieve Tension – Massage School Colorado

Should I stretch if I have back pain?

For people with back pain, stretching exercises are especially important because they can help reduce back pain and may even help prevent future episodes of pain or injury.