In a time where we are constantly connected to the digital world. Persistently trying to be more and more efficient. Typically in positions that are not great for our posture. It is no wonder stress and back pain are topics in most people’s minds. In this post, we will be answering the question can you use a spike mat for back pain?
With people discovering new stress-relieving practices all the time, such as cold water therapy, CBD, and breathing exercises. We want to present some of the facts and experiences. Spike mats or acupressure mats are a tool utilising acupressure techniques. Read on to understand exactly what is acupressure, ways to experience acupressure, and whether a spike mat is effective for back pain and stress.
What is acupressure?
Acupressure is traditional Chinese medicine where pressure is applied to specific parts of the human body. Acupressure is believed to help with various issues such as muscle pain and spasms, and headaches.
In traditional Chinese medicine and acupressure, it is believed that pressure points are manipulated across the various energy lines in the body to free up blocked energy.
Some believe that acupressure is simply applying pressure that helps relieve pain in the body through the release of endorphins. It is also believed that acupressure may impact the autonomic nervous system, which regulates the activation of our fight and flight, and rest and digest state.
Ways can we experience acupressure
There are different ways we can experience acupressure, see the below list of ways you can practice and experience acupressure.
- Visit an acupressure practitioner: This may be the most effective way to experience acupressure as they should have sufficient knowledge to tailor the experience to your particular problems. Of course, this is likely the most expensive option.
- Try acupressure with your own hands: Learn some effective acupressure techniques and pressure points such as these, which you can practice by yourself anywhere.
- Try acupressure with some equipment: There are various acupressure tools that you can use to practice acupressure, some may require some effort on your part such as a trigger point massager. You can use tools such as acupressure slippers whilst simply walking around at home, or use an acupressure mat and pillow when lying down.
Spike mat for back pain
There is limited research on acupressure mats but most people that do use them positively report a reduction in pain and stress.
Although a lot of the benefits are anecdotal and not based on factual measurement, acupressure are a relatively cheap and safe piece of equipment to use.
Here a list of benefits of acupressure mats that can promote stress relief.
- Natural way to reduce pain: Learning to relax and release tension in different parts of your body whilst on a spikey mat allows us to naturally reduce pain in the body and also raise our pain threshold over time.
- Reduce blood pressure: It’s been shown that acupressure can be a useful tool in reducing blood pressure in the short term.
- Reduce muscle tension: Many reviews from users of acupressure mats have found that they have reduced muscle tension in areas that were particularly tight.
- Improve quality of sleep: Acupressure is known to help people relax at night and therefore improve the overall quality of their sleep.
- Treat sports injuries and chronic pains: Acupressure can be an effective tool to help treat sports injuries or chronic pains such as shoulder, neck or back pain. The increase blood flow helps circulate fresh blood around the body and flush out toxins.
Manage Stress
All the above benefits are extra pieces of the puzzle to manage stress and pain more effectively in our daily lives. Acupressure mats are well reviewed by those that use them and there is no shortage of reviews online, for the small price it can be a tool worth exploring.
I personally use my acupressure mat before bed as it helps me unwind and relax. After 30 minutes or so I’ll feel extremely sleepy and I generally have a deep sleep and wake up feeling well rested. Sometimes I fall asleep on it but this probably isn’t recommended for some.
I purchased a Base Yoga acupressure mat in 2020 and it has done the job perfectly since then, for the small price of £20 I can’t complain. If you want to have a look at the same one, click the button below.
Natural ways to reduce stress
An acupressure mat for me is a lovely passive way to relax at the end of a tough day, but there are plenty of other ways we can reduce stress in a healthy and natural way.
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