Hello my friends,
I am curious to try acupressure. I had it done by a friend years ago and I found it to be relaxing… In a kind of painful way (way before I had any of these PSA issues). I’m wondering if anyone has tried it?
I was looking it up this evening and noticed that I press a lot of the points myself. I believe it helps me, it feels like “helpful pain”. Or maybe I’m a masochist?? LOL
Hi Meg,
I'm currently getting acupuncture. Love it. When I was having a really hard time with the muscles across the base of my skull I talked to the rheumy about acupressure. Because I was in a flare he wanted me to be very careful about putting too much pressure in a small place so as to not cause more inflammation. So, that's the only word of caution I've heard. Wouldn't it be nice to not have any aches or pains?
I haven't gone, however my sister goes and loves it!
As with massage, be very careful that you have a very experienced provider with some medical education. Also, again like massage, this can trigger flares. Be sure to explain your condition, and “hot spots” that you might have ahead of time.
I know I just went Debbie Downer all over the place, but a little caution goes a long way. 
I would like to try it as a Migraine therapy but have not learned enough about it yet. They (PAC and therapist) wanted to send me to a Hyperbaric chamber for the headaches until I reminded them that jump starting my immune system was the last thing I needed :( (Have new Drs now) The neck issues are the worst for me as they trigger the Migraine daily no matter how much stretching and exercise or rest I get in each day. Please keep us apprised GrumpyCat, nice to know your out there being Debbie Downer when it's needed :-)
Thank you for the responses everyone!! I have been reading them but have been quite busy with school to give a good reply.
I wonder is acupuncture would be a better choice? It’s weird, I really enjoy pressure and massage on my neck, and find it so beneficial but anything on my lower back just makes it worse.
I think each person has certain spots that just can't bear touching with this stuff. I know I can't stand anything in one certain spot on my neck even a misplaced pillow hurts. A couple years ago my kids gave me a Walmart Neck massager with heat. It is the best thing i have found for relief. No matter how many meds they seem to want to stuff down me, this is the one thing I will never give up! it doesn't bother my psoriasis and it always helps. It was a cheap solution to a huge problem.
I've been told that I shouldn't have acupuncture done to prevent a flare up of my psoriasis. I haven't had acupressure but I did once have a "trigger point" massage that hurt a bit at first and then felt amazing.
I would certainly ask both my reumy and my Derm before a subcutaneous therapy of any kind. Infection is such a huge factor fro the most minute of skin damage. Too much plucking your eyebrows can bring on a flare for some folks. Any irritation is not a good thing.
Massage is always nice..... acupressure I would ask about as well. could irritate something you don't need aggravated!!
Wanted to ask if anyone has had adverse reactions to both acupuncture and trigger point massage? For the first few years of pain that I had with neck/shoulder pain and pretty bad SI joint/butt/thigh muscle/tendon pain, massage and mild adjustments really helped me. But over the last few months at a new office in a new state, I received acupuncture for the first time - 2 days later, I had a horrible pain flare. And even massage, which has always helped me, seemed to make everything worse. I do think though that this massage therapist was practicing trigger point therapy, and the one I had in Houston was doing something different - long deep strokes, as opposed to individual trigger point work. It's been tough for me though because massage in particular was a godsend to me in Houston - now I'm a little afraid to have her work on me at all? And then the whole acupuncture thing - wondering if I should go anyway near that. Thoughts/experiences?
We've actually had discussions on here before about how some people have flares triggered by massage, acupressure / puncture, chiropractic adjustments.... Doing work on the body can trigger inflammation in that area, the same way that sometimes a skin injury can lead to psoriasis in that spot. Or spraining an ankle can lead to PsA flaring in that joint. It's just the way some of our bodies work with PsA.
AddyBlue said:
Wanted to ask if anyone has had adverse reactions to both acupuncture and trigger point massage? For the first few years of pain that I had with neck/shoulder pain and pretty bad SI joint/butt/thigh muscle/tendon pain, massage and mild adjustments really helped me. But over the last few months at a new office in a new state, I received acupuncture for the first time - 2 days later, I had a horrible pain flare. And even massage, which has always helped me, seemed to make everything worse. I do think though that this massage therapist was practicing trigger point therapy, and the one I had in Houston was doing something different - long deep strokes, as opposed to individual trigger point work. It's been tough for me though because massage in particular was a godsend to me in Houston - now I'm a little afraid to have her work on me at all? And then the whole acupuncture thing - wondering if I should go anyway near that. Thoughts/experiences?
I can have acupuncture, but not acupressure or massage or chiropractic adjustment. I had a massage once by someone who specializes in autoimmune arthritis/spondylitis and ended up in the ER that night unable to lift my arms due to extreme inflammation.
I know others with autoimmune arthritis who can do all of the above. I think it is different for different people and also depends on the type of PsA you have. If you have PsA/ ankylosing spondylitis, chiropractic adjustment and massage can be dangerous.