How does modern medicine explain stiff shoulder pain after long-distance driving? Driving in one posture for a long time places our body under static posture stress. The steering wheel continuously tenses the arm and shoulder muscles, and repetitive movements of gripping the wheel along with subtle vibrations accumulate micro-damage and fatigue in the muscles. Such chronic tension and micro-injuries easily lead to myofascial pain syndrome. Inside the muscle, a trigger point forms; pressing here causes tingling or dull pain, and it sometimes induces referred pain that radiates beyond the shoulder into the arm, neck, or even the head. It resembles a tangle in a skein of yarn where a knot in one part affects the surrounding fibers.
Furthermore, when shoulder muscles stay contracted for a long time, blood supply to the muscles is impaired, resulting in local ischemia. As oxygen and nutrients become deficient and waste products such as lactic acid accumulate, the muscles become stiffer and pain sensitivity increases. Just like a houseplant withering from a lack of water, this process eventually causes hypofunction of muscle cells and an inflammatory response. In this state, the sympathetic nervous system becomes excessively activated, causing blood vessels to constrict and lowering the pain threshold, which can trigger a cycle of feeling more severe pain from smaller stimuli.
Translating the circulation of qi and blood from Donguibogam into modern medical terms, it can be understood as blood circulation and the balance of neurotransmitters. Acupressure therapy has scientific backing for resolving these issues. When you apply acupressure to specific acupoints such as Jianjing (GB21), physical pressure stimulates the muscles and surrounding tissues, relaxing tight muscles and increasing blood flow volume. This helps improve local ischemia and facilitates the supply of oxygen and nutrients to aid muscle recovery.
Furthermore, acupressure has a positive effect on the nervous system. According to the gate control theory, an intrinsic pain-modulating mechanism, non-painful stimuli such as touch or pressure can block pain transmission pathways to reduce pain perception. In addition, acupressure promotes the secretion of natural analgesic substances and neurotransmitters such as endorphins and serotonin in the brain, helping to relieve pain and reduce stress. It works much like activating the body's internal resources for recovery.
Recent studies show that stimulating specific acupoints also affects the balance of the autonomic nervous system, suppressing excessive activation of the sympathetic nerve and activating the parasympathetic nerve. This relaxes tension in the body and induces a restful state, which can lower overall fatigue and improve sleep quality. Acupressure can offer comfort and recovery not only for shoulders exhausted from driving, but also for modern bodies and minds stiffened by stress and fatigue. Here, the wisdom of Donguibogam aligns naturally with modern science.
