Acupressure Therapy

Acupressure Career Overview

Acupressure professionals specialize in therapeutic techniques designed to relieve muscle pain and reduce stress. This practice works by applying pressure to specific points on the human body to help energy flow. In traditional Eastern medicine, stimulating certain body points with pressure is thought to promote the flow of vital energy along the meridian pathways.

Acupressure helps to control chronic pain such as muscular pain, migraine headaches, and back aches, and can be integrated into almost any type of alternative medicine or natural health practice. Technicians work in a variety of settings including clinics, hospitals, and health clubs.

Acupressure practitioners work on the following set of principles:

•  To remove blocks in the flow of vital energy

•  To revitalize vital energy in case of deficiency

•  Control or sedate excess vital energy

•  Reestablish the energy equilibrium throughout the body

•  Work towards achieving proper homeostasis

•  Relieve pain with an analgesic effect

•  Cure naturally

•  Energize the organs for recovery

•  Remove toxins and harmful objects to promote a feeling of overall well being

•  Regeneration of the right kinds of new tissues

Acupressure Career Training & Education

Since acupressure does not require the use of needles, it is usually classified as massage training, and may be offered through massage schools and independent seminars for bodyworkers. Some schools offer acupressure programs as part of a specialization. Acupressure classes may also qualify as Continuing Education Units (CEU) for massage therapists working toward a degree or certificate.  

To become a certified acupressure specialist, students will have to receive formal training. Depending on the program and institution, acupressure training can be completed in as little as two years. To qualify for certification, a student will need to complete a minimum of 500 hours of classroom instruction.

Acupressure coursework will vary from institution to institution, but will generally include curriculum in the following areas:

•  The basics of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

•  Organ systems

•  Ying/ yang concepts

•  Health care

•  Business

•  Clinical experience

•  Shiatsu

•  Acupressure

•  Sports massage technique

It is very important for acupressure practitioners to have training and skills in these areas, as they will need to feel the tissues around muscles to locate and apply pressure at specified points using thumbs, fingers, palms, or elbows.

Though there are many healing arts schools that offer acupressure training programs, no two are alike in length and course offerings. The similarities between the programs lie in the fundamentals of the course, which will always include basic acupressure, anatomy, physiology, and business practices.

As a touch therapy, training in acupressure is essential for those looking to expand services in a massage or health spa setting. Students who enroll in acupressure courses can anticipate learning the traditional Chinese technique that is based on the same principles as acupuncture. The difference between the two arts is that while acupuncture uses needles to achieve the desired results, acupressure is gentle bodywork that utilizes firm pressure through the hand, foot, and elbow.

Acupressure Career & Salary Outlook

As an acupressure therapy technician, you will be working collaboratively with clients, practitioners from different fields, and other holistic professionals to offer a complete range of options for improving health and well-being. Career paths include working independently or as a partner in a clinic, but in either case you will posses portable skills that will allow you to travel and experience different cultures.

According to salarywizard.com, the median annual salary for acupressure specialists in the United States is currently just under $50,000. An increase in fitness awareness and the growth of the therapeutic massage industry are reliable indicators that demand for acupressure technicians will continue to grow faster than the average occupation for at least the next several years.

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