Below are case histories of people that have been helped by acupressure.

• Virginia  Virginia was in her 60's when she first came for treatment. Although she had the vitality of someone thirty years younger, arthritis made her neck and shoulders so tense and painful that she could not turn her head from side to side. Golf had been her passion but arthritis had forced her to give it up three years earlier. Since Virginia's condition was long-standing, her therapy began with an acupuncture treatment. For two days after that treatment she applied the acupressure techniques described in this book. She concentrated on the acupoints #2 (Looking back) and #3 (Disappearing Tension). She applied acupressure to these points three times each day. After the first two treatments there was a noticeable difference in her mobility. By the sixth treatment she was back on the golf course with her friends. Three years later, Virginia is still playing golf and experiences only minor flare-ups of arthritis. When she does have a flare-up, she does a little acupressure and "feels better almost immediately."

• Richard  Richard was the number one ranked paddle tennis player in the United States when rotator cuff tendinitis nearly cost him the chance to defend his title. Only two weeks before the national tournament, the range of motion in Richard's shoulder was too limited and the pain too sever for him to expect to perform even marginally. Because paddle tennis requires that the arm and shoulders twist to impart spin to the ball, there was also a real danger that Richard would sustain an even more critical injury. Richard was intent to defend his title. I showed him how to do the Acupressure Warm-up and activate all the shoulder points, especially Shoulder Mountain. He did this once an hour for ten days. Then, he was able to practice immediately, and won the tournament fourteen days later.
   
• Dana  Dana was a weekend athlete, but by twenty one severe mid-back pain had already kept him from playing sports for three years. After fifteen thousand dollars and two years of prescription drugs, his back was still so painful that he said, "I literally have to crawl out of bed in the morning." Dana turned to acupuncture. After his first treatment, I explained that the more he did the "self administered" acupressure between treatments, the quicker his back would improve. Anxious to feel better, he applied acupressure whenever he could, emphasizing acupoints #8 and #10. After three weeks he was enjoying the sports he had missed for years. Now, he carries the balls wherever he goes.
   
• Juan  Juan and I frequently traveled together on the professional tennis circuit. At one of the tournaments during a quarterfinal match, Juan's back began to spasm painfully. Although he was able to "guts out" the rest of that match, by evening he was in pain so great that he considered defaulting the semifinals. Because I felt it could help him, I told Juan not to default but to give my Acupressure routine a chance. I showed him how and he went to work. During the night Juan repeated the warm-up at least ten times. In the morning he continued activation of acupoints #9 (Twisting Around), #10 (Lifting Support) #11 (Arching the Back), and #12 (Stepping Up). By match time he felt well enough to play. Ten years later Juan is coaching two of the world's top fifty women professional players and continues to use the techniques he learned that day for himself and his players.
   
• Mary  Mary's back pain came from stress. She told me, "Every time I get stressed out my back goes out. The last time I couldn't play tennis for six months. My playoffs are in 2 weeks and I really want to play." I promised I would do all I could to get her ready. Mary didn't like the idea of acupuncture. Although the needles are extremely fine, the "thought" scares some people. Instead I applied heat and pressure to acupoints #9 (Twisting Around), #10 (Lifting Support) #11 (Arching The Back) #12 (Stepping Up) and #13 (Jumping Around). After two weeks of "self  administered acupressure," she had recovered 80 percent of her best condition. I advised her not to chance competition but, like most athletes, she played anyway. Her recovery was far enough along that she didn't re-injure her back. Oh, yes, her team won! 
    
• Allan  Allan and I were to spend some vacation time in Maine and Canada catching bass. But when I picked Allan up at the airport I found that he was in tremendous pain. He had hurt his back two days earlier while sliding into home. Instead of leaving for Maine as we had planned, we spent the night in Boston. Allan was in no condition to drive much less row a boat around a lake in pursuit of large-mouth bass. I taught him how to find and activate the acupoints #9 (Twisting Around) #10 (Lifting Support) #11 (Arching The Back) and #13 (Jumping Around). The next morning as we left for Maine I showed him how to position balls behind his back to apply a constant acupressure as we drove. After the 280 mile drive his back felt better than it had that morning. for the rest of our vacation Allan's back felt good enough that he could bend down and release the fish he caught. Unfortunately he only had to do it three times The fishing was terrible!
   
• Joe  Joe is a salesman during the week and a fitness fanatic on weekends. It was basketball season and Joe was frustrated because he would have severe back pain the day after a game. His back pain kept him from walking. During the examination I learned that Joe wore a lift in one of his shoes to correct a leg length imbalance. Leg length differences beyond 1/4 of an inch are important. The difference in Joe's legs was 3/4 of an inch. This put an extraordinary stress on his lower back. In Joe's case the difference was caused by a muscular imbalance in his pelvic region that twisted his pelvic area and put constant strain on his back. Strenuous exercise was more stress than Joe's back could handle. I had Joe activate acupoints #10 (Lifting Support) #11 (Arching the Back) #12 (Stepping Up) and #15 (Upper Body Support). The change wasn't immediate, but his back problem resolved entirely before the end of basketball season. In three months he took the lifts out of his shoes without any problem. By the 4th month the difference in leg length was only 1/8 of an inch. 
   
• Reed  Reed played hockey for the Boston Bruins. During one game he pulled a hamstring muscle. After a week of conventional therapy, he called me for an acupuncture appointment. When I saw him, his range of motion in the pulled hamstring was extremely limited. Acupoints useful in this type of problem are #15 (Upper Body Support) and #16 (Sprinter's Valley). After acupuncture his mobility had increased 3 inches in the Sit and Reach Test. When systematically repeated, acupressure techniques will have the same effect as acupuncture for this type of injury. Therefore I demonstrated how to locate and activate these points using the Acupressure Warm-up. Reed came for two more treatments and reported that the acupressure "definitely speeded my recovery." He was back in the game the following week.
   
• Barbara  Barbara works standing on her feet, eight hours a day, every day. Being on her feet that much eventually caused problems on the outside of her lower leg as well as on her foot and ankle. First she tried new shoes for added support but the problem was not relieved. I showed her how to activate the acupoints #18 (Muscular Center) along with other points used to relax her ankles. Now she rarely has pain and if she does she "just pushes the right buttons and the pain disappears."