Migraines are not just painful headaches. They can be debilitating, last up to 72 hours and disrupt life by leaving sufferers exhausted for days. While doctors typically prescribe medication to treat migraines, Kiatsu lecturer and retired physician Dr. Terry Copperman offers an alternative therapy.
Every Thursday at 3 pm, Copperman teaches a migraine and headache prevention class at the Oregon Ki Society’s Eugene Ki-Aikido Dojo where he is the senior instructor. There, students learn how to relieve and prevent migraine-related pain through Kiatsu therapy techniques.
These techniques include improving posture, practicing relaxation meditation, engaging in deep breathing exercises and pressing on the neck, shoulders and base of the skull.
Kiatsu is rooted in Ki, the Japanese word for “living energy.” Copperman says Kiatsu therapy involves “putting Ki” into a part of the body that is injured or in pain through a process that can improve the body’s natural healing.
Copperman refers to Kiatsu techniques as “tools to unify mind, body and spirit,” and emphasizes the importance of students staying committed to training outside of class. He instructs students to practice “keeping one point” 100 times a day outside of class during the first week to prevent symptom emergence.
“Keeping one point” is a meditation technique that involves focusing one’s mind on one physical point on the lower abdomen. People often question the effectiveness of Kiatsu, a holistic therapy. Even Copperman’s students can be skeptical of Kiatsu techniques. “There are people who are so skeptical that they won’t actually do the techniques completely — they’re doubting it while they’re doing it,” he says.
As someone who practiced Western medicine, Copperman himself initially questioned Kiatsu’s ability to help treat physical pain. “I was tremendously skeptical when I first started,” he says. This changed when he used Kiatsu therapy to relieve a second-degree burn. After he was pain free within 18 hours, he became fascinated with Kiatsu’s health benefits.
Copperman says he is now the only physician in North America trained to use Kiatsu techniques. “I wanted to figure out how I could research this, because I could see the phenomenon was real and very valuable,” he says.
In 2018, Copperman collaborated with Northwest Ki Federation head and Kiatsu instructor Calvin Tabata, Oregon Health & Science University professors Philip Copenhaver and Shirley McCartney and Vancouver Ki Society instructor Saman Vazinkhoo to study the benefits of Kiatsu therapy in treating migraines in female subjects.
Results of the study showed a 53 percent overall reduction in migraines after six months, and 10 of the 21 participants were completely migraine free in two months. Participants also reported improvements in quality of life throughout the duration of the study.
Studying the impacts of Kiatsu on migraines was “especially appropriate,” Copperman says. “The Kiatsu basically jump-starts the healing process but it doesn’t complete it. A person’s own natural healing has to complete it.”
The Eugene Ki-Aikido Dojo is a branch of the Oregon Ki Society, a nonprofit organization made up of dojos that teach Kiatsu and Aikido martial arts to youth and adults around the state.
Copperman raised money to build the dojo, which his wife, Lynne Copperman designed. It was established in 1995. He is now part of a staff of volunteers that keep it running.
“I want to develop a good student base and some teachers that can take this into the next generation,” Copperman says. “It’s really rewarding for me, I have a very close relationship with my patients,” which, he says, “creates some meaning in my retirement.”
The Prevent Your Headaches and Migraines class is 3 pm to 4 pm every Thursday at Eugene Ki-Aikido Dojo, 1071 W. 7th Ave. Classes start at $45, and partial scholarships are available. Call 541-683-5089 or visit EugeneKiAikido.org for program information.