Acupressure Taping

HEALTH / BODYWORK Sufferers of chronic pain well know the frustration of treatments involving endless rounds of drugs or expensive physical therapy--that may or may not offer relief. Doctors Hecker and Liebchen present a comprehensive guide to a new method of pain treatment--acutaping--which offers a much simpler and more effective alternative. In acutaping, an elastic cotton tape, known to many people as kinesio tape, is placed over painful muscles or joints to provide support, relieve pain, and improve lymph drainage, while encouraging full freedom of motion. When a muscle is inflamed or swollen, the space between the skin and the muscle becomes compressed, irritating the muscle's pain receptors. The therapeutic elastic tape is able to lift the skin away from the underlying muscle, relieving this painful irritation. During the course of normal movement throughout the day, the tape provides a gentle but consistent massage to the inflamed area. Because Dr. Hecker and Dr. Liebchen draw upon their knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, and the holistic principles of osteopathy, they carry treatment with kinesio tape a step further. Unlike simple kinesio taping, which primarily tapes the locus of pain, the taping protocols in this book are designed to stimulate related acupuncture points as well, combining principles of acupressure and massage for improved healing and pain relief. The authors show how many bodily dysfunctions can be self-treated through this innovative method, and they present therapeutic as well as preventive techniques for addressing acute and chronic pain--from chronic back pain and tennis elbow to menstrual pain and tension headaches. With step-by-step instructions, illustrated in full color, detailing how to self-treat pain throughout the body, acutaping provides an easy and effective treatment approach--without side effects--that offers welcome relief to sufferers of chronic pain. HANS-ULRICH HECKER, M.D., is an internationally known expert in acupuncture and Chinese medicine. He is a lecturer in naturopathy and acupuncture at the University of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany and the author of numerous books translated into many languages. KAY LIEBCHEN, M.D., is an orthopedist who specializes in pain therapy, acupuncture, and acutaping. He teaches chirotherapy at the Dr. Karl Sell Medical Seminar and is the coauthor of numerous textbooks. The authors live in Germany.