Ep 27: What’s the deal with acupressure mats?

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:00:03) - Welcome to notes from Your Acupuncturist, the podcast. For anyone who's interested in acupuncture, complementary medicine, holistic health and self care. I'm your host, Alexa Bradley Hulsey. If you enjoy this show, you can help other people discover it by leaving a rating or a review, by following or subscribing on your favorite podcast listening app, or simply by telling someone about it. And if you'd like to support this show financially, you can become a paid subscriber on Substack for just a few dollars a month. Just head over to Substack and search notes from your acupuncturist, or click the link in the show notes. And one more thing before we get started, just a disclaimer that this podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a replacement for medical care from a qualified health care provider. Okay, on with the show. Hello and welcome to notes from Your Acupuncturist. I'm your host, Alexa. And today I'm going to be talking about acupressure mats and other acupressure devices. I'm a big fan of acupressure as a self-care technique, and people have been using acupressure tools other than their own thumbs for a very long time, centuries, millennia.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:01:18) - Even. So, that's what we're going to talk about today. Acupressure mats, acupressure rollers, acupressure rings. And today's episode is especially fun because later on you're going to hear from some of my coworkers. But I want to start off today by talking first about acupressure mats. These have been gaining popularity in recent years, and there are lots of companies selling them, and of course, lots of claims being made about them on social media. And yes, some of these purported benefits are probably a bit exaggerated. So I decided to try out an acupressure mat for myself, and I'm going to tell you all about it. But first let me back up a little. A few years ago, I started getting questions from my patients about acupressure mats. Patients would want to know my opinion if I thought they were just a gimmick, or if they really worked and just generally wanted to know what is the deal with acupressure mats? And my standard answer for years was I don't really know. And if you don't know what an acupressure mat is, picture a rectangular mat like the kind you used to lie on at nap time in kindergarten, and it's covered with rows of plastic circles, each about the size of a quarter, and each plastic circle has several short plastic spikes sticking out of it, and you lie on it.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:02:50) - It's sort of like a bed of nails, but the nails are plastic and not as sharp. So, as I said, I started hearing about these acupressure mats a few years ago, so I figured they were a relatively recent invention. Nope. Wrong. They've actually been around for over 40 years and have a very interesting history. So let's take a little trip to Russia. It's the late 1970s. A music teacher named Ivan Kuznetsov has resolved to rid his school of an infestation of insects. He dons a mask and suit before spraying a powerful chemical insecticide. But he neglects one crucial safety element gloves. And when the bare skin on his hands comes into contact with the insecticide, it affects his peripheral circulation, causing severe pain and muscle spasms, and he is unable to move his limbs for weeks. So Kuznetsov tried a variety of different treatments and found that the only thing that really helped was acupuncture. But this was the Soviet Union in the 1970s. There were very few acupuncturists practicing at the state run facilities, and the ones practicing privately were too expensive because he needed a lot of treatments.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:04:20) - So Kuznetsov started performing acupuncture on himself, and he found that the acupuncture points on his back were the most helpful. And just a side note here. I've said this on this podcast before, but please do not perform acupuncture on yourself. It is not safe. Go see a licensed acupuncturist or buy yourself an acupressure mat. So Kuznetsov started doing acupuncture on himself. But as you can imagine, trying to needle acupuncture points on your own back, especially when you have peripheral nerve damage, is pretty challenging. So he took a rubber mat and stuck about a thousand drawing pins into it, and he placed them close enough together that they wouldn't pierce the skin. It was a pretty rudimentary prototype, but it worked. It relieved his pain and the muscle spasms from the peripheral nerve damage. Kuznetsov, the Russian music teacher, had just invented the first acupressure mat, so he applied for a patent in 1979, and it was granted the following year. He called his product the Kuznetsov applicator, and word of mouth quickly spread about the healing benefits of his mat.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:05:43) - The Soviet press published many anecdotal stories of people who were healed by the mat, and clinical trials were even conducted on the mat, although unfortunately none of the research was ever published. A whopping 93% of users said that the mat helped them in some way, and overall sales of the mat were said to be in excess of 70 million units. Now, we don't know if these figures are exaggerated, but the mat was certainly quite the sensation in the USSR after the fall of the Soviet Union. The Kuznetsov applicator became available to the rest of the world in the 1990s, health practitioners in the newly independent Baltic states started introducing the acupressure mat to other European countries, and its popularity spread from there. Cool, huh? So now that we know a bit of the history of the acupressure mat, I want to talk about my own experience using one. I decided finally to just buy one and try it out. The mat I bought is exactly what I described earlier. A thin foam mat with rows of plastic spikes placed close together.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:07:00) - It also came with a neck roll that's also covered in the rows of plastic spikes. And a lot of the mats that you see online will come with the neck roll. I think I spent about $30 on my mat and neck roll combo, which is on the lower end of price range for acupressure mats. There are some options that cost a lot more. Some are over $100. And then there are acupressure mats that include infrared light, and those are much more expensive. They start at around $1,200. And there are all kinds of claims about the benefits of infrared light. But this episode is about basic, no frills acupressure. And if you want to try an acupressure mat, I think that the low end $30 model will probably serve you just fine. Now, there are all sorts of ways that you can use an acupressure mat. You can lie on it, you can stand on it. You can just press one body part on it. You can try different things and see what feels good to you.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:08:03) - However, you should not use it on broken skin or open wounds. And if you have thin skin or you tend to bruise or bleed easily, you should have a layer of clothing or other fabric between your skin and the mat and use it maybe for just a few minutes. Also, if you have high blood pressure that is not well regulated or vertigo, or if you faint easily, you should limit your time using the mat. Proceed very slowly and just pay attention to how you feel afterwards. And if you're pregnant, just check with your doctor before using it. Okay, so I've been using my mat for a few months now. I've tried using it a few different ways, and I've figured out how it works best for me. So I mentioned the neck roll that came with my mat. I try the neck roll a few times, so placing the neck roll under my neck with the spikes pointing into the skin of my neck. And y'all, I could not handle the neck roll. I tried it both on bare skin and also with the layer of fabric between my skin and the spikes, and it was just way too intense for me.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:09:18) - The neck roll itself felt too stiff, so I felt like my neck was hyper extended, and then the spikes sticking into my neck, even with a layer of fabric, was super uncomfortable. But your mileage may vary. It's worth a try. The mat itself I love. I wasn't sure what to expect, but now it's become a part of my nightly routine. So when I get in bed at night, I usually spend about a half hour or so reading and I sit up in bed, propped up with pillows, and I put the mat on top of the pillow props so my back is resting on the mat or resting back against the mat. And this is with a layer of clothing between me and the mat, so the spiky sensation isn't too intense. It helps relieve tension in my back muscles, and sometimes I'll sort of shimmy around and give myself a little massage with the spikes. And for me, it just adds to the whole relaxing experience of winding down at the end of the day and reading in bed.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:10:24) - Now, on some nights I will also lie flat on the mat with my bare skin directly touching the plastic spikes. And this took a little getting used to. The spikes don't pierce the skin like an acupuncture needle, but they're still sharp and pointy, and there are a lot of them pressing into your bare skin. And it is. For me, it was definitely uncomfortable at first, so I'll lie on the mat. I'll take some deep breaths, and then the discomfort will just give way to something that feels more like an embodied awareness. It feels more therapeutic than just resting against the mat when I've propped myself up in bed to read. I feel tingling and aliveness and energy movement. It feels amazing, actually. So most nights I'll lie flat with my bare skin on the mat for about 10 to 15 minutes. During that time, I'll become very relaxed and sometimes drift off into a half sleep. It kind of feels like that half asleep, half awake state you're in when you get an acupuncture treatment.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:11:39) - Then I'll sit up, move the mat out of the way, and I'll usually fall asleep immediately. So if you have a hard time falling asleep at night, maybe it's difficult for you to turn off your brain. At the end of the day, you might want to try this. It's seriously puts me right to sleep. Now. There have been a few times when I've really fallen asleep, like falling into a deep sleep while I'm lying on the mat, and I'll wake up like 30 or 45 minutes later and my back does not feel great after I've been on the mat for that long. I don't think the little plastic spikes have ever actually broken the skin, but for me, it's too long to have those things sticking into my back and afterwards the skin just feels very tight and has kind of a sunburned feel to it. But it's just temporary. And I still sleep fine and I feel fine the next day. So if you think you might fall fully asleep while you're on your mat, you might want to set an alarm.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:12:39) - That's what I do now. So let's talk about this. Why this whole acupressure mat experience is so relaxing and promotes sleep and just generally feels good. It's really all about the acupuncture meridians on the back. So yes, the little spikes are like a thousand little tiny pointy hands massaging you, and it helps relax those spinal and latissimus dorsi muscles on your back. But there's more to it than that. And to understand why, we have to talk about the pathway of the urinary bladder meridian. So the urinary bladder is the longest meridian on the body. It has 67 points. It starts at the inner corner of the eye, then travels over the top of the head and down the back in two parallel lines on either side of the spine, and then down the back of the leg all the way to the pinky toe. And what makes this meridian really special are these two descending parallel lines of points on either side of the spine. And we call these the back shu points. And that's shoo, shoo.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:13:54) - And we have the inner shu points, which are in a straight vertical line about an inch and a half lateral to the spine. And then the outer shu points, which are about three inches lateral to the spine in a straight vertical line. So if you picture your back, you've got the vertical line of your spine in the middle and then two vertical lines on either side. Those are the inner and outer shu lines of the urinary bladder channel. The inner shu points help to regulate the function of the organ systems. So there's a corresponding inner shu point for every organ in Chinese medicine. So a shu point for the lungs, the heart, the liver, and so on. And each shu point is located at roughly the same anatomical level as the organ itself. So the shu points for the lung and the heart are on the upper back, the spleen, in the stomach, on the mid-back, the kidneys on the low back, and so on. And an acupuncturist will needle these inner shu points when we when we want to buy or regulate an organ system.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:15:02) - And I'll give you an example. In my own practice, I actually rarely use the back shu points because I practice community acupuncture and I treat people in recliners, so I don't really have access to their back. And there are hundreds of other points on the body, so I'll just use other points to testify and regulate the organ systems. We don't have to needle points on the back, but lately I've been treating a baby and her parents both get acupuncture regularly, and they brought her in for her first treatment when she was just three weeks old. My youngest patient ever and definitely the cutest patient ever. And her parents brought her in because they wanted to do everything they could to strengthen her immune system because she was starting at daycare at around eight weeks old. She also had some eczema as a lot of babies do so in Chinese medicine. When we talk about the immune system and protection from airborne pathogens, this is what we call Wei chi or defensive chi. This type of chi circulates on the superficial layer of the body, and it's part of the lung system.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:16:18) - And the skin is also included in the lung system in Chinese medicine. So for this baby, I've really focused my treatments on her lung system, and I use the lung shu points on the upper back. I have her mom hold her, and I do a quick and very shallow insertion into those points, those lung Shu points. So that's just an example of how an acupuncturist might use the inner back Shu points in a treatment, and we can do the same thing for any of the organ systems. Now the outer back shu points are really interesting because these correspond to the emotions. And in Chinese medicine, every organ system has a corresponding emotion. So an acupuncturist might use an outer shu point if they want to regulate or harmonize the emotions associated with a certain organ system. So let's go back to our example of the lungs. Grief is the emotion associated with the lung system. So if a patient is wanting some help working through grief or processing grief or uncovering grief, we could needle the lung outer shu point on the upper back.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:17:34) - It's located at the same anatomical level as the inner shu point, just more lateral to the spine. And sometimes we'll needle both the inner and outer shu points because, as we know, emotions and physical symptoms are often linked. So those are the inner and outer shu points of the urinary bladder meridian. There are dozens of them on the back, and together they really regulate and talk and harmonize every aspect of the body and the emotions. Every organ system, every organ function, the sensory organs and the musculoskeletal structures associated with each organ system, and the emotional and spiritual sides of each system. Every part of you body, mind, and spirit can be reached via the shu points on the back. And when you lie on an acupressure mat, it stimulates all of those shu points at once. And that's why people love their acupressure mats. That's why Ivan Kuznetsov invented his mat to treat peripheral nerve damage and peripheral circulation. Because it's not just a nice little relaxing, massage like treatment for your back muscles. It is deeply therapeutic thanks to the power of the back Shu points.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:18:57) - I'll be back to talk about more acupressure devices in a minute. But first, a quick word from this episode's sponsor. Are you an acupuncturist looking for an integrated appointment? Scheduling electronic health records and payment processing software system? Check out this episode sponsor open HQ, a system created for acupuncturists by acupuncturists. Open helps manage your practice so you can focus on what you do best taking care of your patients. Check out Openacu.net and subscribe to the open IQ newsletter for a free e-book business guide and $50 off your sign up fee. That's open AQ dot net. Okay, so I've talked about acupressure mats and clearly I'm a fan. One more use I want to mention is that some people will stand on their acupressure mat so that the plastic spikes will stimulate all the reflexive zones on the feet. I tried this and honestly, I could only hang for about two minutes standing on the mat. It was just too intense for me. Similar to the neck roll, and the first several steps I took after standing on the mat were pretty painful.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:20:13) - So for me personally, it feels better to have my weight distributed over a larger surface area on the mat. But other people love to stand on theirs, so I would just say try it out and see what you like. So next I want to talk about some other acupressure devices. And I'm going to bring in a couple of very special guests, some of my coworkers, to share about their experience using them. There are many acupuncture tools out there. They're easy to use and most are relatively inexpensive. So a few months ago, I bought a bunch of them and asked my coworkers to test them out and report back to me. So that's what we're going to dive into now. First, you'll hear from coworker and fellow acupuncturist Ali Bellows, who's going to talk about the acupressure ring. It's sometimes called a finger roller. I call it a slinky ring, and its official name is the Sujok Ring. And Sujok is a combination of the Korean words for hand and foot. And Sujok is a whole system of treatment using points on the hands and feet and according to the principles of shock theory, you can treat all parts of the body by stimulating these hand and foot points.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:21:31) - So the ring is just one treatment tool in this complete system of therapy. Okay, so let's hear from Ali about their experience using the ring. Well, now I am joined by my coworker and fellow acupuncturist Ali Bellows. We have worked together for many years and Ali was one of the testers for this episode. So Ali, thank you for joining me. Welcome.

Ali Bellos (00:22:00) - I'm so excited to be here. And I just realized this is the first podcast I've ever been on, so yay!

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:22:07) - Welcome to the wonderful world of podcasting.

Ali Bellos (00:22:11) - Um, so yeah, I tried an acupressure ring, which I had tried many years ago, and I think I maybe even mentioned that when I first started acupuncture school so many years ago, a friend of mine had given me one, and when I tried this latest acupressure ring on, I'm like, how did these rings get so small to you? And you said, maybe your fingers grew, which was something I hadn't considered.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:22:45) - Always a possibility.

Ali Bellos (00:22:47) - I really just tried it on because it was there at the desk, at the pump and then thought to myself, hey, this actually, well, actually thought, this feels weird.

Ali Bellos (00:23:02) - Yes.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:23:03) - So so describe it's kind of hard to describe, but like, what is an acupressure ring?

Ali Bellos (00:23:10) - Yeah. So what would be a good way to describe it? Um, I almost wanted to say like a tiny slinky that goes around. It does kind of.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:23:20) - Look like a slinky. And it expands and contracts and it goes around your finger.

Ali Bellos (00:23:25) - Yeah. It's like. Yeah, like a little metal wreath that can fit around your finger like a ring. And it's not pointy, but it's not smooth. It definitely has like. I don't know how you would describe it. Yeah, like it feels bumpy when you put it on.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:23:42) - Got some angles on it.

Ali Bellos (00:23:44) - Angular. Yes. That's an excellent way to describe it. So it's this angular ring that, like you said, can expand and contract and can fit pretty much over anybody's fingers, whether they have grown in the decade since they've gone to acupuncture school or not. Um, and the sensation when I put it on was I would not call it a pleasurable sensation.

Ali Bellos (00:24:09) - I would call it a discomforting sensation. But it was strange because the more I put it on and moved it around, I was like, maybe this does actually feel good. Like I feel good, but I stopped doing it. Mhm.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:24:23) - And so you put the ring on, did you roll it up and down your fingers.

Ali Bellos (00:24:28) - Yeah. So basically I would put it on each finger and just kind of like starting I don't know that I started at my thumb or my pointer finger, but I just kind of would put it in on each finger up and down in succession. And I did that several times on each hand. And. To be honest, I probably did it several times over the course of a shift. And then I think there was one day where I just had it in my pocket and I brought it home by accident. And so then I did that again. And then. Yeah. And there's one I feel like there's one maybe still on the desk. So from time to time, I'll just kind of like, as I'm at the desk, I'll use it.

Ali Bellos (00:25:08) - Um, and I didn't necessarily do it with a specific intention in mind, but I do get. Like I'll sometimes get almost like a I don't know if you call it like decide Roddick eczema between my fingers and it could just be happenstance. But sometimes I do get that. Like especially at the change of the seasons, and I have not experienced that at all. Oh yeah.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:25:33) - Interesting. How did your fingers feel? How do your fingers feel after you roll the ring up and down the finger a few times?

Ali Bellos (00:25:41) - Yeah, I definitely can feel that. There's. That it's increasing that that movement is increasing circulation. So they don't necessarily feel my fingers don't necessarily feel tingly. But there is that sensation like, oh, like blood getting some good blood flow in my fingers.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:26:05) - So I imagine then that this acupressure ring could be a useful tool for maybe people who have some circulatory issues affecting the extremities.

Ali Bellos (00:26:17) - I think it would be really useful for that. I also think, I mean, there are so many things now where we're using our fingers heavily.

Ali Bellos (00:26:25) - I mean, like obviously a lot of people use cell phones, a lot of people use trackpads or use mouses, a lot of people are typing. And so I think it's really helpful for that, too, because I do think that. Even just that action of giving your fingers some attention is a really nice thing to do. We don't always, like, take care of our hands in that way. Maybe people manicures do, but then yeah, I do think that it's a pretty it's it's both stimulating and relaxing.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:26:58) - Hmm.

Ali Bellos (00:26:59) - For anybody who uses their fingers a lot. Be that, you know, cell phone usage or technology usage or people who are musicians or otherwise, you know, laboring with their hands. I think it's useful for that. And it's just so portable. It's not you can do it. I mean, it's nice to, like, give yourself a little moment and do it with a lot of intention. But you can also just kind of use it like a fidget device, which probably, probably ultimately is how I was using.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:27:32) - Yeah. Think it could be a great fidget device because it is therapeutic as well.

Ali Bellos (00:27:38) - Therapeutic. And it's a little bit self limiting, at least for me because.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:27:41) - Oh uh huh.

Ali Bellos (00:27:43) - I was like, okay, two rounds of this, that's enough.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:27:47) - Right? Right. You're not going to spend like 30 minutes. We're going to be like.

Ali Bellos (00:27:52) - Get back to whatever it is that I'm fidgeting during. True.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:28:00) - Well, and I think it's really interesting to because there are um, in our, in our meridian based acupuncture system that a lot of us use in our clinics, and it's kind of a standard set of points that we learn. There are there are points on each of the extremities, but in there are there are other systems of acupuncture that have a lot more points on the finger. So like I'm thinking of the master dong system, which a lot of especially community acupuncturists use because there are a lot of points on the extremities. There are tons of points on the fingers, like so many points.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:28:37) - And so this, this acupressure roller ring can stimulate all of those points. So it's it is not only. Increasing peripheral circulation just through the action of the rolling, but it's actually stimulating some really useful acupuncture points.

Ali Bellos (00:28:57) - No, that's such a great point. Pun intended points. That's a great point. Yeah. And I think also even just, you know. These like classical well, points. It's not like you're really going to necessarily want to do this on yourselves or do them on a patient. Yeah. So even yeah. Just to like you said, activate all of these points that are on the fingers. But then, yeah, just these really incredibly potent points that are at the tips of the fingers that you wouldn't necessarily normally stimulate with a needle regularly. It's fun to. Yeah. And I think especially right now, kind of like at the tail end of summer as we move into fall, whatever lingering heat might be hanging out there. Nice. Yes.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:29:51) - Yes. So I can think of actually lots of uses for these, for these rings.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:29:57) - So circulatory issues, maybe clearing out excess heat, showing your hands a little love. It's a great little tool.

Ali Bellos (00:30:09) - Yes. Very versatile and very portable and fun and fun.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:30:16) - Well thank you very much for telling us about your experience with the acupressure ring.

Ali Bellos (00:30:21) - Yes. Thanks, Alexa. Thanks for having me on.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:30:23) - Absolutely. Anytime. Okay. So next up we're going to hear from my coworker Sandra Dreamer. And she talks a bit about the soohyuk ring as well. And she also talks about another acupressure tool she's been using. And I don't know the official name of this device, so I've been calling it the corncob tool because, well, it looks like a corncob. Here's Sandra. Okay. Now I am joined by Encircle Acupuncture staff member Sandra Durhamohr. She is my operations manager and right hand woman, and she's going to tell us about an acupressure device that she's been using. Sandra, welcome. Hi. Thank you so much. Yeah. Of course. So tell us about this acupressure device that you have been using.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:31:14) - Okay.

Sandra Durhamohr (00:31:15) - So it looks kind of like a very small corn husk. And it's made out of wood and it's spiky. There's spikes and you can kind of, like, grasp it in your hand. Um, and then because it's kind of like a Cornhusker cylinder, you can like, roll it between your two hands, roll it along your arm. And then I also have used the spiky ring. So it's like a little, um. Yeah. Like goes on like a ring on each finger. And you can roll it up and down your finger and it's just like, gives a lot of, like, spiky pressure. Yes.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:31:53) - Yeah.

Sandra Durhamohr (00:31:54) - So tell us how that was described. Okay. It was.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:31:56) - Beautiful. Beautiful description. Let's talk about the spiky ring real quick okay. So what did you notice when you rolled the spiky ring up and down your fingers?

Sandra Durhamohr (00:32:06) - Yeah. So right now I'm experiencing carpal tunnel, and a couple of my fingers are just kind of always numb and and tingly. And so I find that the ring especially is helpful for just kind of instant pain relief.

Sandra Durhamohr (00:32:25) - Like while I'm using it, it's just. Yeah, it's kind of taking away the numbness. And I don't know if that's because it's distracting my brain from feeling the numbness, but it's helpful. Like if I'm in a meeting with someone and need to focus on them and not so much on how my hand is feeling. Yeah, works as kind of a fidget. That also kind of takes away the sensation.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:32:48) - Cool.

Sandra Durhamohr (00:32:49) - Yeah.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:32:49) - And then tell us about the other corn husk like.

Ali Bellos (00:32:53) - Device.

Sandra Durhamohr (00:32:54) - You've been using. Yes. It also has been very helpful for in the moment, pain relief. I found that neither one is really kind of taking away the sensation permanently. And for listeners, the carpal tunnel is related to a pregnancy symptom right now, and so it's not going to go away till after I'm have given birth. And so I realized that the acupressure is not just going to take it away. Um, but yeah. So in the moment, squeezing it, rolling it up my arm, my wrist, my shoulder has helped again in the moment.

Sandra Durhamohr (00:33:35) - Take away the pain. And so, um, yeah, I just use it randomly throughout the day, especially before or after I have to use my hand for something. So like typing or writing or washing dishes or something. Keep, you know, before or after helps it feel better because in the moment of having to do those things is when the carpal tunnel acts up.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:33:59) - Yeah. When where do you experience the carpal tunnel? Do you experience it sort of like on the inner part of your forearm.

Sandra Durhamohr (00:34:07) - It is mostly in my hand. Okay. So definitely radiates middle finger and ring finger. But then it also just feels like after doing some of those activities, like being on my computer or writing, my hand just kind of goes numb and falls asleep. So it's mostly experienced in my hand and not so much the wrist and the forearm.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:34:31) - Okay, okay, so it sounds like it's providing some just some temporary temporary symptomatic relief. And this could be a good device for people to use if they use their hands a lot, if they're typing on their computer or using their hands in other ways just to provide some relief after using their hands, or maybe to increase circulation before using their hands.

Sandra Durhamohr (00:34:58) - Yeah, definitely think so. I also wanted to share that I was talking to my doula about using acupressure in labor. Yeah. And so she uses a comb to hold in the hand and apply acupressure. But definitely this corn husk like wooden tool could also be used. And so to test it out, um, I, I forget what people call it, but it's basically like this ice experiment. And so for one whole minute you hold an ice cube in one hand and you try not to use any coping mechanisms. You just try to like, see what it's like. It's like your baseline. You're like feeling the pain. I did use my breathing and that was helpful. But yeah. So you just feel the ice for 60s. Um, and so I did that and it. Lee was not fun and the 60s went by pretty slowly. Um, and so then I waited a second and did it again while holding this acupressure device and squeezing it and also breathing. Um, and the 60s went by faster for sure.

Sandra Durhamohr (00:36:09) - Like it was still sort of uncomfortable, but not in the same way, not as intense. And my brain was able to also focus on like what was going on in this other hand, without the ice, the spiciness. And so I feel like there's something to that. It was really interesting.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:36:25) - Yeah, I love hearing that. So the the device that your doula recommended, it's just like any old plain old comb that you can buy at Walgreens.

Sandra Durhamohr (00:36:34) - Sometimes they use some that are like made out of wood just so it won't break. If you're like, literally squeezing it so hard during a contraction. But yeah, you can also just use a regular old comb. Cool. Yeah.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:36:47) - So are you going to take the corn husk acupressure device with you when you go into labor?

Sandra Durhamohr (00:36:53) - I sure will love it in my bag. We'll see. I'll report back to you and see if please report back. But yeah, it worked pretty well with the ice cube, so I'm mean we'll see. I love it I love it.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:37:06) - Well, thank you so much for sharing your experience of acupressure with us. Yeah.

Sandra Durhamohr (00:37:11) - Of course.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:37:13) - Okay, so there you have it. Some real world applications of acupressure devices from people who have tried them out. As I said in the beginning, I was inspired to do this episode after getting lots of questions from patients about acupressure mats and other tools and seeing some of them being used on social media. I have no financial interest in these products. This episode isn't being sponsored by an acupressure mat manufacturer or anything like that. I truly just wanted to try these products out for myself so I can have a more informed opinion when people ask me about them. So in conclusion, acupressure mats. I'm a fan. It's become part of my nightly ritual, and it really does help me relax at the end of the day and fall asleep faster. Other acupressure devices can have all kinds of applications, so I encourage you to try them out. They're easy to use and inexpensive. And I'm also a fan of any type of self care that involves getting feedback from your own body, because it helps you be more centered and just more aware of what's happening within your own body.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:38:23) - We spend so much time disengaged from our bodies. We're looking at screens. We're unaware of our posture and our movements. So something like acupressure that involves self touch isn't. It isn't just therapeutic. It also helps you feel more present and more rooted and just more alive in your own body. Now a couple of questions. A lot of acupressure tools are sharp and pointy. Not pointy enough to pierce the skin, but pointy enough to get your attention. If you have sensitive skin, you might want to avoid these tools. Also, you should never use them on open source or wounds, or any area of the skin that's in the process of healing from a cut or a burn, or any other type of skin injury. If you bleed easily or have thin skin, you might want to avoid these as well. Or if you do use them, use very light pressure and limit your time. If you tend to get lightheaded or faint easily, or if you have very high or very low blood pressure, you should really ease into using these and see how your body responds.

Alexa Bradley Hulsey (00:39:37) - So have you used an acupressure mat or other device? I'd love to hear what you think. You can comment on Substack, Instagram, or Facebook or send me a message on my website. There is a link in the show notes. Be well out there, friends. Thanks for listening. Thank you for listening to today's episode of notes from Your Acupuncturist. If you liked what you heard, please follow this show. Leave a rating or review, or just tell someone about it. And if you want to join the conversation, you can subscribe to notes from Your Acupuncturist on Substack, where you can comment, ask questions, participate in discussion threads, watch videos, and read more of my reflections on acupuncture and healing. Huge thanks, as always to our paid subscribers for helping keep this work sustainable. You too can become a paid subscriber for just a few dollars a month. Just head over to Substack and search notes from your acupuncturist, or click the link in the show notes. Until next time, this is Alexa Bradley Hulsey, your acupuncturist signing off with love and gratitude.