More cures at your fingertips

More cures at your fingertips. If you need to ease backache or Irritable Bowel Syndrome, learn how to apply reflexology to your hand. We look at four more common complaints and show you how to make them better through reflexology.

INSOMNIA

Press down on the ball of each thumb for three seconds, repeating three times. This area represents the pituitary gland which regulates the body's major hormone systems.

Pressing here should rectify abnormal hormone levels which can lead to sleepless-ness. Pressing on the adrenal point - see Stress - which regulates stress hormones and the solar plexus point, should also help.

FATIGUE

Give your hands an overall rub, squeezing one hand with the other from the wrist through to the fingertips. Then work up and down each palm with the ball of the thumb.

This stimulates the whole of the nervous system, which in turn boosts blood circulation and lymphatic drainage - toxins are cleared from the body more quickly.

The muscles relax, you'll get an energy boost and feel revitalised. Try repeating the process on each hand, three times every two to three hours.

BACKACHE

Thumb-walk from the wrist up the outer edge of the palm to the tip of the thumb and repeat three times on both hands.

This area represents nerves running along the spine and vertebrae, and stimulating it should have an overall relaxing effect.

Pinch the solar plexus point at the very centre of the palm with your thumb and forefinger for three seconds, repeating three times - this induces muscle relaxation throughout the trunk and spine.

Finally, rub the adrenal point - see Stress - as this reduces levels of stress hormones which cause inflammation and muscular tension.

IBS

For IBS, thumb-walk across the left hand beginning at the base of the palm beneath the thumb, working across to beneath the little finger, then work upwards to just beneath the knuckle-bone.

On the right hand, thumb-walk from the base of the palm under the little finger up to the middle of the palm, and across to the base of the thumb. ( dailymail.co.uk )