P. Sze 
Neck pain is one of those conditions I wish never existed. The last time it happened to me, it felt as if my neck was going to crumble, and my head would have to sit on my shoulders. The pain was there, but it wasn’t as severe as the general discomfort it brought. I knew then that I didn’t want to carry the pain for more than a few days and acupressure for neck pain in the hands came to the rescue, especially as I wasn’t ready to swallow pills.
When you feel the muscle tensions on your neck from either sitting over your computer for too long, bad posture, or injury, you restrict blood circulation to your head that can lead to headaches or dizziness. When the stiff neck becomes chronic, you’ll feel frustrated and lose concentration. So, you must take care of your neck daily, especially if you sit straight for hours and work with a computer.
Neck pain doesn’t last for long; a few days, and it’s gone. But when you massage the acupressure points in the hands for neck pain occasionally, you’ll be freeing yourself from regular neck discomfort. So, I’ll show you in this article the acupressure points for neck pain on the hands to easily massage when you feel like you’ve stressed your neck.
Can Acupuncture Help Neck Pain?
Acupuncture works on the premise of meridians, which are the pathways of life energy. When the meridians flow smoothly, you live a healthy and balanced life. If the reverse is the case, you’ll lose your body balance and fall ill. This concept is used by Chinese Medicine (TCM) to treat a variety of illnesses and bodily discomfort, including neck pain.
These days, several studies exist to support the effectiveness of acupuncture for treating certain treatments, including neck pain. Irnich, an anesthesiologist, with a couple of researchers conducted research that proved that acupuncture is more effective than massage and sham acupuncture in treating neck pain.
Another research that focused on females with chronic neck pain proved that acupressure reduces pain in both the local and distal acupoints in these females. The study also showed that acupressure affects the autonomous nervous system but only those on the local acupoints.
In addition to this, researchers interested in investigating the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on GABA-A receptor (R) and GABA-BR in the spinal cord dorsal horns (DHs) used rats with incisional neck pain to experiment. They found out at the end of the study that electroacupuncture of acupoint LI18 and acupoint LI4 to PC6 had a wonderful analgesic effect in rats with incisional neck pain. This effect of the LI18 acupoint and LI4 to PC6 acupoint is better than those of acupoint ST36 to GB34 EA. This effect allows GABA to be expressed on neurons and astrocytes.
The Hand Acupressure Points For Neck Pain
In TCM, you can relieve many disorders of the internal organs as well as bodily discomfort by stimulating acupoints. This is because the internal organs and acupuncture points are well-linked. You can know that your organs are not functioning properly from the reactions you get when you press the linked acupoints. When you press the acupoints of an organ that’s ill, you’ll feel pain and hardness around the area of the acupoint, and the skin around that area may change color.
These acupoints to diagnose abnormalities of the organs are present on almost every part of the body, especially the hands and feet.
The acupoints on the hands work for defects in the upper body, while most of those on the feet affect the lower body.
This is why it is easier and more effective to stimulate the acupressure points for neck pain in the hands. To do this, here are the acupressure points you need:
Acupoint: SI-1 (Other Names: Small Intestine-1/Shao Ze/Lesser Marsh)
Acupressure point SI-1 is a Small Intestine Meridian acupoint of great importance for neck pain. This acupoint is called Shaoze in Chinese, which translates to Lesser Marsh in English. It is located on the hand, at the base of the nail plate on the corner of the little finger.
Its classification in TCM as the Jing-Well point of the Small Intestine Meridian enables it to function as a resuscitator, an opener of the orifice, and a promoter of lactation. This is why, in addition to relieving neck pain, it also solves issues of insufficient lactation, loss of consciousness, sore throat, and headaches.
SI-1 can also be found in the hand acupressure points chart for everyday problems.
Acupoint: LI-1 (Other Names: Large Intestine-1/Shang Yang/Metal Yang)
Acupoint LI-1 is another of the hand pressure points for neck pain that you should take note of. It is located at the base of the nail plate at the corner of the index finger. In Chinese, LI-1 is called Shangyang, which means Metal Yang.
Like SI-1, LI-1 is also a Jing-Well point but for the Large Intestine Meridian. Therefore, it helps in clearing heat from the meridian, reviving consciousness, and helping the throat. This is why LI-1 is effective in treating sore throat and any numbness at the tip of your index finger. LI-1 is also one of the acupressure points for fertility issues.
Acupoint: TE-3 (Other Names: Triple Energizer-3/Zhong Zhu/Central Islet)
Acupoint TE-3, Central Islet, or Zhongzhu is a Triple Energizer Meridian acupoint that helps neck discomfort. You’ll find this acupoint behind your knuckles, in the depression formed by the tendons of your 4th and 5th fingers.
In addition to neck pain, TE-3 is used clinically to treat headaches, red eyes, sore throat, leg pain, and deafness. You can also use TE-3 as one of the acupressure points for the trigger finger.
Acupoint: LI-4 (Other Names: Large Intestine-4/He Gu/Joining Valley)
Hegu or acupoint LI-1 is another acupoint for acupressure for neck pain in the hands. It is located at the back of your hands, in the depression that is formed where the bones of the thumb and index finger meet. This Large Intestine meridian is regarded as the command point of the head and face in TCM.
It is for this reason that it is not only effective in treating neck pain but also in the treatment of toothache, mumps, swelling of the eye, nosebleed, and facial tic. If you have back pain, LI-4 and these acupressure points for upper back pain will help you greatly.
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