Powerful Chinese Methods May Help Relieve Symptoms Of Glaucoma

In China, grade-school children are taught to massage around their eyes, because it is believed that this simple exercise - based on the ancient tradition of acupuncture - will alleviate eyestrain and thwart myopia. Acupuncture, the practice of therapeutically inserting small, sharp needles into specific points of the body, has gained respectful attention in the Western medical community. This practice is best known for its effects on the nervous system. Acupuncture appears to release body chemicals known as endorphins and enkephalins, which are the body's natural painkillers.

Acupuncture is based on the ancient Chinese philosophic principle of yin and yang. In this philosophy, the earth is represented by the female principle, the yin. The heavens are represented by the male principle, the yang. When the natural universe is in harmony, yin and yang are in balance. The body too contains yin and yang, and when these forces are out of balance, sickness and disease occur. To correct the imbalance, points along twelve meridians, or lines, that run along the body are stimulated, enabling chi (vital energy, or the life force) to flow more freely. Various points along the meridians correspond to different organs and parts of the body.

Can acupuncture cure glaucoma? Neither acupuncturists in China nor those in this country make such claims, but they do say that treatment can help relieve some of the symptoms. Many of us would prefer not to explore an "iffy" situation or a situation that we are unfamiliar with. What we can do, however is to practice shiatsu, a type of massage or body work. Shiatsu acts on the same points along the meridians prescribed in acupuncture for the health of the eyes.

When these points are massaged, energy flows more freely, balancing the body's various systems. The exercises below take no more than ten to fifteen minutes, depending upon the length of your massage:

1. With your thumbs on your temples and your index fingers bent against your brow, massage the exact center of your eyebrows fifty times. Now move your thumbs about an inch to the right. Massage fifty times. Return to center and move your thumbs an inch to the left. Massage fifty times.
2. Massage your lower eye socket, just beneath the pupil, fifty times.
3. Place your index fingers in the upper inner corners of your eyes. You will feel a tender spot. Massage that area gently in a rotary motion fifty times.
4. Place your index fingers on the outer corners of your eyes. Massage that area in a rotary motion fifty times.
5. Place your fingers on the area just below the tear duct. Massage that area in a rotary motion fifty times.
6. Press your thumbs into the hollows of your temples. Massage these areas fifty times.
7. Feel the hollows just above the center of your eyebrows. Massage fifty times.
8. Press your thumbs on your upper forehead, near the hairline. Massage fifty times.
9. Place your index finger and middle finger directly below your nose. Remove your middle finger. With your index finger, press and push upwards towards your eyes. Repeat this exercise fifty times.
10. Place your index fingers just below your earlobes. Feel the hollow. Massage upwards fifty times.
11. Place your thumbs just beneath the bony structure at the back of your head, where your neck meets your head. You will feel hollows and possibly tenderness. Massage fifty times.
12. Do a circular massage starting with your eye sockets and increasing the range of your massage until you take in your whole face.
13. With your thumbs, find the hollows in the back of your head, just below the top of your scalp. They should feel like the soft spots on a baby's head. Massage fifty times. Then massage the back of your scalp fifty times.

When doing the massage, use pressure that is firm but not uncomfortable. Apply pressure for ten seconds or so, then release for a few seconds before applying pressure again. While the pressure should be firm enough to stimulate the point in question, it should not be acutely painful. If it is, either decrease the pressure or discontinue the massage.