Parallel joints - 2

One technique that can be very useful when dealing with painful or stiff joints is to use the opposite joint. It is just one of the many energy balancing techniques that are available - others will be dealt with in subsequent postings.

Ask the client/patient to signal the exact position of the severest discomfort - then place your middle finger tip on the EXACT place on the opposite joint i.e. shoulder with shoulder, elbow with elbow etc. Leave the finger quite still for a few seconds before placing the middle finger pad of the other hand on the pain site. If this site is a large one, it is permissible to place the whole hand over it. You may need to leave the fingers or hands in situ for up to 2/3 minutes before you feel a change of emphasis under your hands (more warmth and relaxation in the tissues). This is an excellent technique when dealing with muscle spasm or in cases of hemiplegia where sensation is altered under one side of the body. Next blog I shall recap all the acupressure/reflex techniques that are available when dealing with painful joints and muscles.

Parallel reflexes - joints

At last my new computer is up and running - Windows 7 is SO much better (I had better not crow too much as me and inanimate objects sometimes fall out with one another. To carry on with the basic healing techniques, today's blog is how to utilise hands on energy therapy by balancing and treating painful joints.

With very few exceptions it does not matter what the aetiology is, unless the pain is referred from a distance. Please note the following parallels:-

SHOULDER WITH HIP
ELBOW WITH KNEE
WRIST WITH ANKLE
CARPUS WITH TARSUS
OCCIPUT WITH SACRUM
UPPER CERVICAL WITH LOWER LUMBAR SPINE

Ask the patient where the pain is - do NOT place you hand immediately on it! Go to the parallel joint and you WILL (not maybe) find a sore point on the exact parallel e.g. cubital fossa of elbow is parallel to popliteal fossa of the knee etc. Do some gentle stimulation with the forefinger pad of one hand for a few seconds until this soreness eases. As soon as the soreness eases leave the finger or hand on the parallel joint and pl;ace the other hand over the painful region. Make sure you are comfortable. Energy balancing occurs when the sensation under each hand is the same - this could take up to five minutes. The patient/client should tell you that the pain has eased. Please remember that you need Focus and Intention (read previous blogs) and you are utilizing their vital force - not yours!! Let me know how you get on.

More on parallel reflexes next time - JRC

Catch up

Sorry not to have written over the past couple of weeks. My computer was past saving and I am picking up a new one this week end. This posting is being written on my wife's lap top. On the day the computer died, the kettle and the microwave stopped working as well - I put it all down to my magnetic personality. I am now back doing some clinical work - and am being inundated by old and new patients who all want IN. My usual two days a week is slowly becoming three, but I still have to pace myself as two consecutive days work flares the neck up again.

Winter is still here but the snow and ice have now gone thank goodness - it is just plain cold! We were without hot water for over a week as we ran out of oil - the deliveries were well behind schedule due to the bad weather. I am off to the ACPEM conference nr. Bath next month so hoping the bad weather will be all gone by then. I have just finished proof reading my latest book 'Concise book of Acupoints' and now need to work on the back page blurb - its all go!! I shall write another article on hands on therapy next time.

Vertical and Horizontal Zones

The invisible horizontal and vertical lines of force of zone therapy form one of original tenets of reflexology. This philosophy is as old as traditional Chinese therapy. The division of ten vertical zones is based purely on the fact that we have five digits either side of the body and the five horizontal sections nicely divide the body into easy to analyse and treat sections. The vertical lines are probably used much more in clinical practice. The thumb and great toe together with the very medial aspect of the body are placed in the most medial zone, whereas the little finger and little toe, together with the most lateral aspect of the body are in the outer zone with the intermediate three in between. Sensitivity and tension in the reflected area indicates a problem in another part of the zone. Let me give you a couple of examples of how it may be used -

** If the client has acute discomfort in the shoulder joint, which lies in Zone Five (the most lateral one). There will be another tender spot ( not necessarily on a recognized acupoint) along the same zone. This will often be found half way between the outside of the knee and the lateral malleolus of the ankle.

**If they complain of pain in the inside aspect of the knee, which represents Zone One, another tender point should be found on another Zone One point, usually the outer aspect of the elbow.

There are two treatment approaches with this philosophy. The first (and most popular) is to hold the reflex point for anything up to 5 minutes with a finger pad, together with focus and intention. The pain will start to ease after a couple of minutes but it is best to keep the pressure on until you are sure that there is a change. You are just using one hand and the other one is redundant. Please be aware that you are NOT curing a musculo-skeletal condition, you are just easing the pain to enable the condition to be properly treated. The second method is to place the hands or fingers either side of the painful region but in the same zone. This may take less time to create an energy balance than the first one. I tried to upload a diagram but couldn't!!

We'll discuss Parallel Zones next time. I hope you are finding this stuff interesting and useful to your practices - feedback always welcome!