Pressure points are sensitive areas of the body where pressure can be applied to effect pleasure, relief of pain and stress, or healing, as in acupressure and reflexology. Pressure points are also sensitive areas of the body where pressure can be applied to effect extreme pain, injury, or incapacitation as in martial arts and other forms of combat.

Modern medicine defines pressure points as areas of the body with high nerve density. The concentration of nerves in one area of the body results in hypersensitivity in that area.

Reflexology or zone therapy uses pressure by fingers, elbows or other instruments to massage or push pressure points redirecting energy pathways. Based upon the belief that all of the body’s major organs are represented by specific points on the hands and feet, reflexology holds that by stimulating the matching pressure points, corresponding organs will be helped. The benefits of stimulating pressure points include improved circulation, stress relief, and repaired energy flow. All of this is expected to help the body function more efficiently and heal.

Acupuncture, a branch of ancient Chinese medicine, teaches that the body has points in which energy accumulates and gets bottled up. These points are believed to be located primarily on the face and ears. By penetrating pressure points with tiny needles, energy pathways are thought to be redirected, benefiting overall health and healing.

Conversely, the study of pressure points in relation to combat is aimed at identifying those areas of the body that are susceptible to major injury or extreme pain. The pressure points are identified so that they can be attacked thus rendering an opponent incapacitated. The eyes, nose and groin are commonly sited combat pressure points. Two spots under the jaw bone, one on each side of the face, are often taught in self-defense classes as primary pressure points to be used by victims of violence.

The exact locations of the body’s pressure points are not widely agreed upon. One hundred points are used in traditional Chinese medicine but other sources believe they may number into the thousands.