I have rarely found significant acupressure studies in
medical literature. I am excited to
share a recent study done in Boulder, CO, using not just acupressure, but
specifically Jin Shin – my specialty – in the treatment of stroke. The testing was done with Jin Shin
treatments and ‘placebo’ treatments to determine the effect on the Autonomic
Nervous System. The Autonomic Nervous
System controls the breathing, heart function and is indicated in stress
reduction. The Sympathetic Nervous
System is activated by stress and increases the functions of the heart,
respirations, etc. By increasing the
effect on the ANS, the SNS is decreased, in other words – this treatment
reduces the stressors that increase wear and tear on the heart and the vascular
system. These are also the systems that
are often damaged in cases of stroke.
The most interesting fact to be learned from this study was
not that it helped – but that it didn’t help that much until after the 4th
treatment. This study was conducted
over 8 weeks, so for the first 4 weeks, there was no significant change. I do not personally see this in my sessions,
but we are not marking respiration, blood pressure, etc. as they were in this
trial. My stroke clients (not uncommon
in any client) report feeling more relaxed, have better flexibility which
improves gate, and generally sleep better.
None of these issues were part of the study and, therefore, were not
reported.
Here is an excerpt of the report which was authored by KL
McFadden and TD Hernandez and printed in Complementary
Therapies in Medicine (Feb. 2010.)
“Cardiovascular
Benefits of Acupressure (Jin Shin) Following Stroke”
