The flight is finally over and the seat you’ve occupied for almost a day has left you stiff, sore and longing for the hotel sauna. Hiking to the top of the mountain was the highlight of your trip but your aching legs suggest otherwise. Last night, your hotel bed seemed more than comfortable but now as you roll over to get up, a stabbing pain in your neck reminds you that there’s nothing like your own bed.

As traveling frequently exposes our bodies to unaccustomed situations and conditions, virtually everyone suffers from some sort of, mostly non-serious, ailment when abroad. What do you do though if you or a companion develops agonizing neck or back pain for instance? Take a couple of aspirin and hope you will feel better? Interrupt your itinerary to seek help? What if you’re far from help or when you eventually find you’re faced with a frustrating language barrier?

According to Michael Reed Gach, founder of the Acupressure Institute in Berkeley, California and author of Acupressure are Potent Points, “Acupressure is an ideal tool for travelers and it’s very effective in cases of acute pain and stress and is easily learnt and applied for self-treatment or on others.” “In twenty years of practice ,” says Michael, “I’ve not only helped hundreds of people with neck and back pain, headache, stress, anxiety, digestive problems, colds, flu and other conditions, I’ve also taught many people how to help themselves using the same techniques.”

Acupressure (Acupuncture without needles) has been practiced for 5000 years in the Orient and uses mostly finger and thumb pressure on specific points of the body to release tension, reduce pain and improve circulation. The points used mirror those needled by acupuncturists. Unlike acupuncture though, acupressure doesn’t require years of training, is virtually danger-free and can be applied anytime, anywhere whether you’re at work, at home, sitting in a bus or a plane or standing in line somewhere.