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Acupressure

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Encyclopedia of Immigrant Health

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Many Chinese immigrants in the USA have accessed both Western style biomedicine and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which includes acupuncture, acupressure, dietary therapy, massage, and therapeutic mind/body practice. Traditional Chinese medicine is a healthcare delivery system that has a professional class of physicians and its own diagnostic system. Individuals may access both TCM and Western conventional medicine.

Acupressure is a form of acupuncture that is performed without the use of needles; it involves only the contact (or touch) of the patient’s body through massage. Finger pressure is applied to specific spots known as acupoints; these follow rivers of energy throughout the body that are known as meridians. It is believed that illness occurs when these energies become unbalanced or blocked and that stimulation of the acupoints restores the balance of these energy flows and alleviates illness. Pressure and small circulatory movements with the thumb or index finger are...

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Suggested Readings

  • Harris, P. E. (1997). Acupressure: A review of the literature. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 5(3), 156–161.

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  • Ma, E. X. (1999). Between two worlds: The use of traditional and Western health services by Chinese immigrants. Journal of Community Health, 24(6), 421–437.

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  • Ma, L. (2009). Acupuncture as a complementary therapy in chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. Proceedings of Baylor University Medical Center, 22(2), 138–141.

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  • Wade, C., Chao, M. T., & Kronenberg, F. (2007). Medical pluralism of Chinese women living in the United States. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 9(4), 255–267.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Minority Public Health, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Gary Edmunds

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  1. Gary Edmunds
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Sana Loue

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Martha Sajatovic

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© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Edmunds, G. (2012). Acupressure. In: Loue, S., Sajatovic, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Immigrant Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_15

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-5655-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-5659-0

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