Situations arise in which patients require urgent treatment for acute pain or illness, for example:

• Acute hay fever

• Ischialgia

• Cystitis (without fever)

• Asthma attacks

• Biliary or renal colic

• Hemorrhoid pain

• Migraine

• Earache, especially in children

• Pylorus spasm

• Premenstrual or menstrual pain

• Painful restriction of movement of joints

• Torticollis, especially in early childhood

• Unexpectedly heavy bleeding

• Accidents such as whiplash injuries, sprains, bruises

• Toothache

• Cervical or intercostal neuralgia

Performing this grip in its active phase is similar to performing the basic grip:

• Touch the symptomatic zone gently.

• Bring the distal phalanx of the thumb from a horizontal into a vertical position by swinging the arm.

• Apply the therapeutic stimulus deep into the tissue. Unlike the customary basic grip, this position is calmly maintained until the strong pain in this zone has eased significantly. In general, this takes 5 to 10 seconds, sometimes more, sometimes less.

• Only now is the tension of the grip released, and the relaxed thumb swings gently back into its initial position.

The entire symptomatic zone is treated point by point in millimeter steps using the sedating grip, coordinating the release of pressure with the easing of the pain in the zone.

As soon as the patient appears strained and the autonomous nervous system severely irritated, we perform a stabilizing grip and pause for a moment.

If the intensity of the pain persists for longer than 15 seconds or if it eases only slightly, the solar plexus zone is treated (sedating grip!) and the painful zone then carefully re-examined again.

Exception: If the background zones are very close to the symptomatic zone, they are not tonified. For example, in the event of acute pain in a wisdom tooth the zones of the ear are not tonified.

The choice of background zones can be made in accordance with the following criteria:

• Musculoskeletal functional range (e.g., in patients with epicondylitis): lower cervical spine and neck, upper thoracic spine, scapula, shoulder joint and muscles including the trapezius and arm

• Ontogenetic connection to the same germ layer (e.g., mucous membrane disorders): interrelationship between the digestive tract, nasopharynx and bladder – genital system

• Systemic connections (e.g., tonsils–appendix; thyroid gland–ovary; liver–spleen; eyes–kidneys, pancreas)

• Segmental connections (e.g., sacrum – organs of the lower pelvis; middle of the thoracic spine – stomach)

• Areas with similar shapes in which the joints or organs can be treated alternately, (e.g., humerus–femur; temporomandibular joint – hip joint; brain–intestine, Eustachian tubes – fallopian tubes)

With all inflammatory processes the zones of the intestine and spleen are treated at the same time, both usually with tonification.

Examples

• First Aid for a patient with acute toothache: Sedating grip in the zone of the affected tooth. It often proves necessary to treat the zones of the adjacent teeth with the sedating grip as well. Now and then, however, the sedating grip may aggravate the toothache. In this kind of situation, first the lymphatic zones of the head and neck are stroked, both laterally on the metatarsophalangeal joint and on the interdigital spaces between the individual toes, in order to promote drainage. The background zones may also be treated. Then the sedating grip should be repeated carefully and slowly in the symptomatic zone.

Tonifying of the zones of the intestine (relationship between teeth and the digestive tract).

• Women with severe menstrual pain: Sedating grip in the zones of the uterus, ovaries, lower spine with sacroiliac joint and solar plexus.

Tonifying of the zones of the intestine, gluteal muscles, pelvic floor, pituitary gland, nasopharyngeal cavity (development from the same germ layer). When the acute phase of pain has eased, the symptomatic zones of the uterus and ovaries may first be tonified gently and then later possibly more vigorously. Alternating strokes in the zones of the lymphatic system of the thigh and inguinal areas (assignment to the genital area).

• Patient with biliary colic:

Sedating grip in the zone of the gall bladder (plantar and/or dorsal).

Tonifying of zones of the small intestine, right side of the neck, shoulder girdle and joint (segmental relationships).

Tonifying of the zones of the kidneys, pituitary gland, thymus, small intestine, pelvic organs (development of mucous membranes from the same germ layer), spleen, pancreas, stomach.

• First Aid for patients with acute circulatory weakness:

Position the legs higher than the head. Balanced tonifying treatment (not too vigorous), several times in succession and lasting for only a few seconds in each zone, performed in the following sequence:

• Pituitary gland

• Occiput with neck

• Heart, thyroid gland

• Adrenal glands (identical to kidney)

• Spleen

• Genitals

• Solar plexus

Tonifying the abdominal and pelvic organs in addition supports basic metabolic processes and enables the patient to regain their general equilibrium so that they are less agitated. Medication to stabilize the circulation and Bach flower essences number 39 – Rescue Remedy can also be used for this purpose, although these measures are not always necessary.

Practical Information

• Often, acute care helps to overcome the most aggressive phase of pain. Sometimes it helps to bridge the time until other measures are possible, for example, with acute toothache. After the acute phase has passed we must decide, through careful observation of the patient’s present condition, if and when it is necessary to ask for further medical advice.

• The stronger the pain and the more sensitive the symptomatic zones, the more we advise:

• either starting treatment with the background zones (functional connections with the symptom), or

• slowly and carefully increasing the intensity of the sedating grip in the symptomatic zone—that is, slowly increasing the intensity of the grip in the tissue until we reach the maximum possible.

• If the pain in the symptomatic zone remains constant for longer than 15 to 20 seconds, we first choose the same anatomical site on the other foot and return to the former later on.

• If the pain in the symptomatic zone does not subside at all, only the background zones are tonified. During the next treatment session, however, the symptomatic zone should be checked again. It then often proves to be less painful.

• If the pain in the symptomatic zone fluctuates during the sedating grip, in our experience there may be a disturbing focus in the organ, tissue, or meridian—for example, scars, chronically inflamed organs, or tooth decay. In this situation, neural therapy or holistic treatment of the teeth will be the methods of choice. Reflexotherapy of the feet (RTF) should be continued as an additional measure.