neshamaruach wrote:
It was supposed to create an anchor. Didn't work, at least for me. I've heard of others, particularly NT athletes, having good results with it, though.
As for acupressure...In my experience, it ain't hoodoo at all. When I was in about my 16th hour of intense labor trying to give birth to my daughter (I finally succeeded, by the way...), my Chinese midwife pressed an acupressure point on my leg and the pain went away. Trust me, no amount of belief or suggestion or placebo effect can possibly overcome the pain of childbirth.
All the studies suggest that acupuncture and acupressure have exactly the same effects as telling someone you're going to perform them and then faking it. They went as far as using fake needles that retract instead of puncturing, and for acupressure they pushed the wrong points, all with identical effects. Granted, I'm not aware of any study on either done during labor.
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