Acupuncture Footwear - Walk Your Way to Better Health

Acupuncture footwear is comprised basically of slippers, sandals, and shoes that have inner soles that project ‘upward’ (projecting nodes or bumps).

Although such dome-shaped nodes are not usually found in leather boots, manufacturers have come out with removable soles that can adapt to most closed leather and even athletic shoes.

The purpose of these protrusions is to massage the feet when weight is applied.

Acupuncture Footwear Claims

The reference to acupuncture (also acupressure) is based on the TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) theory that certain points of the feet correspond to specific organs and bodily functions.

It is the belief that acupuncture/acupressure nodes in the sole of a shoe, for example, will stimulate the sole of the foot and have a soothing or healing effect on:

• Bladder
• Ears
• Eyes
• Gallbladder
• Heart
• Kidney
• Liver
• Lungs
• Reproductive Organs
• Spleen
• Stomach

The most accepted beliefs are that acupuncture footwear is most beneficial to lower extremity circulation as well as relaxing tired foot and leg muscles.

Acupuncture has also been used to relieve pain in patients who suffer from lax ligaments. Ligaments permanently stretch in cases of injury, bad posture, or repeated stress.

Acupuncture is said to relieve some of the stress around the area where a joint has become unstable due to lax ligaments. However, it often happens that when the pain comes back the situation becomes chronic.

Acupuncture and acupressure originates in the belief that a human being has a life force (Chi) that flows through the entire body. TCM holds that if this energy or force is blocked, certain organs will develop an excess of it

TCM also states that the converse is true: too much freely circulating energy will lead to deficiency in certain organs. In both cases, it is claimed that dysfunction, pain, or illness will occur.

Acupuncture footwear, therefore, ensures that the points of the feet that correspond with these organs are kept stimulated to maintain a healthy balance of energy.

Many acupuncture footwear soles, in fact, have labels on key areas indicating which organ certain points correspond to.

Is Acupuncture Footwear Beneficial?

TCM and its claims and practices have drawn criticism from scientists mainly because the Chi (the life force it purports to safeguard) is regarded as metaphysical. As such empirical science can never hope to measure it.

Therefore, acupuncture is referred to as a "pseudoscience." Eastern scientists, however, state that the Chi is simply a metaphor and may refer to something physiological.

Western scientists counter that TCM covers a vast number folk practices, mostly founded on mysticism; and that methods are based on cultural beliefs and are speculative at best.

As for acupuncture footwear, its users find great relief from the raised nodes or bumps that are either soft or cushioned. Raising certain areas of the feet away from the ground lessens the contact – and consequently, the pressure – on these areas.

If only for that, acupuncture footwear has proven to be beneficial.

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