This 65-year-old Japanese Soba Master Holds the Key to Hand Pain Relief
Meet Tengan Saito, he runs one of the world’s great soba houses in Hokkaido. Tengan studied for 10 gruelling years to become a renowned Soba Master. According to him:
“Soba, or buckwheat noodle, is the most difficult noodle to master due to its fragile dough and delicate technique.”
“For 10 hours a day, I knead 40 pounds of dough, roll them to exactly 1.5mm in thickness, and hand-cut them to exactly 1.5mm wide noodles.” - Tengan
For 400 years, Tengan’s family have been making soba. He now hopes to pass the knowledge to his only daughter, Yuki.
Fate had other plans
Tengan’s daughter, Yuki, was exceptionally bright and had a compassionate heart. She yearned to use her hands to help people instead. At 17, she won a scholarship to study Physical Therapy at Columbia University. Upon graduation, she was named “Health Care Hero”.
Yuki was immediately offered a job at a local physical therapy centre. She loved her job and found it very rewarding to see her patients getting better over time.
Some diseases only seem to get worse
After some time, Yuki noticed that her arthritis patients would get worse over time. Many of her patients complained of wrist pain, stiff fingers, and swollen joints. Some even had difficulty performing daily tasks.
Nonetheless, Yuki was determined to do something to help them!
She took up more arthritis patients, even if it meant working overtime. She gave extensive massages and patiently taught them a myriad of hand exercises. But nothing worked!
An inspiration from an ancient technique
One day, after a whole day of treating arthritis patients, Yuki came home and just broke down. Suddenly, the phone rang…
It was her father!
Yuki immediately thought about her father’s beautiful and strong hands. She remembered – after a long day of soba making, her father would perform a sophisticated hand massage on himself.
Without hesitation, Yuki asked about this massage. Here is what her father told her:
“Soba is as good as your hands. To make excellent soba, you need good hands.”
“Our ancestors perfected a self-massage technique based on these points called ‘Tsubo’.”
“By massaging these points, it promotes the hand’s natural healing ability and prevents the progression of ‘tired hands’ disease.” - Yuki’s father
Suddenly, it all made sense to Yuki. What his father meant by ‘tired hands’ might be ‘arthritis’! Thanks to her knowledge of anatomy, she found that the ‘Tsubo’ points were located where our connective tissues are.
“My intuition told me that by massaging the connective tissues in a certain way, toxin build-up which causes inflammation can be released.” - Yuki
Then Yuki’s father revealed another ancient secret…
He wore a bracelet made of copper to sleep every night. An ancient practice used to reduce inflammation in the body.
A wise new start
Back at work, Yuki tried the ancient massage technique on her patient. Amazingly, her patient reported instant relief! Within a week, Yuki was flooded with patients asking for her ‘special massage’.
“I knew there must be a more effective way of treating my patients, so they wouldn’t have to wait and keep coming back.” – Yuki
Determined, Yuki gave up her free time to do research. Guided by soba-making principles of simplicity and modesty, Yuki came up with something that was nothing short of genius…
Introducing Seiso™ – a unique compression glove
Designed with 64 compression points all along the hand using copper fibre rings around the fingers and palm. It is made to trigger the 64 ‘Tsubo’ points whilst incorporating the benefits of copper.
Copper is an essential trace element vital to the health of the human body. It helps maintain a healthy metabolism, promotes strong and healthy bones, and ensures the nerves in our hands work properly.
First, Yuki tested the gloves on her patients. Amazingly, they came back reporting pain relief after only 8 hours of use. Word of mouth spread and other therapy centre started asking for the Seiso™.
Seeing the potential, Yuki contacted a manufacturing company and struck a deal with them. Initially, Seiso™ came at high cost due to its intricate design. But thanks to advanced technology and economies of scale, Seiso™ is now available at low cost.
Receiving a deserving recognition
In 2018, Seiso™ was awarded the ‘Best Innovation of the Year’ by the American Orthopaedic Association (AOA). Dr. Sigvard Hansen from AOA explains the science behind Seiso™:
“The glove’s unique compression encourages the efficient flow of fluids.”
“Thus, reducing inflammation and accelerating your hand’s natural repairing process.”
“It can be worn overnight for at least 8 hours, or throughout the day.”
“My patients all report a decrease in swelling and pain the next day.”
“Osteoarthritis or degenerative arthritis affects 27 million people in the US.”
“Steroid shots or surgery should always be the last resort.”
“Seiso™ is a proven, safe, and non-invasive solution to hand pain and stiffness.” – Dr. Hansen
Coming full circle
Yuki is extremely happy to see her arthritis patients regain function in their hands. It all came full circle when she transformed her ancestral knowledge into something beneficial!
Yuki hopes to help more people achieve fluid mobility in their hands. Now all it takes is as simple a thing as a glove.