Research from Turkey suggests acupressure improves aerobic performance in healthy young men, by 10%. Forty subjects were randomly allocated to receive either three minute acupressure at three acupuncture points, or a placebo acupressure session. Both groups were subjected to a six minute step test both before and after the intervention, and VO2 max measured. In the true acupressure group, this figure had increased significantly from baseline, whereas in the placebo group it remained unchanged.
The team suggest that acupressure decreased participants’ anxiety levels, allowing better utilisation of available energy sources.
(Effect of Meridian Acupressure on Aerobic Performance of Healthy Young Population: A Randomized Controlled Study. Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, 20 February 2018.)
Author: Robin Costello
I offer traditional Chinese acupuncture in Exeter, from a tranquil clinic a mile from the city centre, and next to the University of Exeter. I graduated originally from the London School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine’s 3 year full time Acupuncture Diploma (DipAc) course. I am on the practitioners register of the British Acupuncture Council (MBAcC), a regulatory and professional body with an entry standard of a full three year undergraduate degree level training.
I have worked in a hospital in south west China, deepening my knowledge and using acupuncture and Chinese massage (tuina) as the treatment of choice in its country of origin. I have taught Chinese medicine in colleges, the NHS and at university level. I also practise Qi Gong, and Chinese dietary therapy, that is the medicinal use of ordinary foods, chosen to help achieve particular therapeutic effects in different individuals.
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