Trigger point stimulation

In osteopathy as in TCM and vedic and ayurvedic medicine as with all the systems that are based on bodily functions, the trigger points or acupuncture points or whatever one chooses to call them are treated gently. 

The functions of the body need very little stimulation to trigger them or get them back into balance.  Exactly the same principle is used in homeopathic medicine which uses tiny doses of chemical as the triggers to function [chemicals have functions and thus here function is being used to trigger function].

In effect this system generally does not use high intensity stimulation [overload]  – although it is an option, where real imbalance exists medically.

One way of understanding this is to think of the function as a sort of software pendulum. If it is pushed too far one way it either swings violently or it produces extreme functional reactions – so for example if the function is the beating of the heart, it produces an arrhythmia or terrible thumping, if the function is an emotional one such as happiness and sadness, too much swing produces truly extreme emotion – appalling grief or, perhaps less worrying, ecstatic happiness and elation. The objective is to nudge the pendulum just a little to get it swinging in a less extreme  way.

The keyword is thus gentle – gentle stimulation and gentle tiny amounts of input which either gets the function working again, or puts it back into balance when it has perhaps become somewhat extreme in its operation.  Only when there is severe imbalance might less gentle pressure be applied.  Although the techniques should be soft and gentle they do need to be  deeply penetrating and not superficial.

The Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) explanation for the selection of such points and their effectiveness is that they work by stimulating the meridian system to bring about relief by rebalancing yin and yang [masculine feminine yin and yang]. In effect the function  - which might be totally over stimulated in one direction – say the ‘yang’ direction – is rebalanced with input from ‘yin’ energy.  Thus stimulation acts like a jog to the pendulum of functionality.

Observations

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• Calligaris, Professor Giuseppe - Beyond the world sensible