Should acupuncture hurt?
Should acupuncture hurt? When you ask people whether acupuncture hurts, most of them will say some variation of, “No.” I’m going to add the opposite opinion, with a few caveats.
Pain is relative. It’s relative within your own experience - that time you got beaned with a softball hurt way more than burning your hand with coffee. It’s relative depending on the part of the body being impacted - a hit to the head is going to hurt worse than a hit to the thigh, if all other variables are held constant. It’s relative between people - your girlfriend can take way more pain than you can, buddy. I’m serious.
There are different kinds of pain. Stubbing your toe feels different than burning your toe. A grazing blow to the leg feels different than a direct kick to the leg. Most importantly for this discussion, we all know what “good pain” feels like. That burn after a good workout, for instance.
You don’t need to be afraid of sensation! Even those powerful sensations that we call “painful.” Acupuncture hurts a bit - at least when it’s doing its job. But that pain is entirely different than anything you’ve ever experienced. So different, in fact, that you could call it something other than pain. In a treatment with a licensed practitioner, the sensation does not come from the insertion of the needle. It’s also not life threatening in the slightest. So don’t be afraid!
Some people describe the acupuncture sensation as “pulling” or “electrifying” or “dense” or “indescribable!” It’s a feeling like something MOVING - and at first, or when a particularly strong point is being needled, you may experience it as pain. This sensation is produced by the Qi of the body “grabbing” the needle. It is a good sign. It means that the treatment is beginning. Let me repeat: If the acupuncturist is skilled you will FEEL something. Rest assured that this sensation will pass and that you will come to understand it as a “good pain,” perhaps right away. The sensation is a signal from your body that says, roughly,
“Whoa!”
It is the sensation of good things to come. Very good things.
It is, of course, possible that the pain you are feeling is NOT a good pain. This happens occasionally when a point is misneedled, but your doctor will be aware of that and will most likely remove the needle and reinsert. More experienced doctors do this rarely, students do it… more often. Fortunately, we’re mostly just needling eachother and once we get into the student clinic we’re mostly past that phase. :)
So, the next time somebody tells you that acupuncture doesn’t hurt - ask them what they mean. If they insist that they felt nothing during the treatment, you might recommend that they find another practitioner.
If you like what you read here, you may want to keep updated by using my RSS feed. Want to know more about RSS/feeds? - read more here. Thanks for visiting!
Tags: Acupuncture
Related posts
Comments
4 Responses to “Should acupuncture hurt?”
Leave a Reply
-
-
What am I up to?
-
Subscribe to Deepest Health
-
I can appreciate the distinction between pain and what might be described as the sensation of unblocking energy. As an adult, I find I am able to make that distinction and am also able to understand the ultimate benefits, despite the discomfort.
I am curious, though, on your perspective of acupuncture for children. I was recently discussing with an acquaintance her use of acupuncture to address her 14-month-old’s chronic ear infections. Of course parents, with any type of medical care they pursue, will make decisions for their children about what options appropriately support their health. And children, depending on their own cognitive development, will process sensations differently. For example, as a three-year-old I underwent the allergy scratch test and, though I remember little else from the stage of my life, I distinctly remember the terrifying sensations of that particular experience. Over 20 years later I again had the scratch test and again experienced pain, but the second time around I was able to understand the experience in a different context.
As a practitioner what parameters, if any, might you place around treating children with acupuncture? And beyond that, what is your perspective on both how parents make decisions about what levels of sensation they expose their children to and how parents and/or practitioners communicate with children around the variety of treatments, and their corresponding sensations, that support health?
Great question - and so well put! :D
Well, my daughter has had acupuncture many times. She does anticipate the “pain” and sometimes gets a little wound up about it. However, she is able to make that distinction for herself. Further, most kids in China grow up getting acupuncture - from practitioners with MUCH MORE rigorous technique than most anyone in the US.
That being said - acupuncture for kids in the US is often done differently. Worsley-style 5 Element acupuncture, for instance, uses relatively thin needles and quick insertion. I think this works for kids because while they’re more than willing to process a sensation quickly, they are less likely to tolerate sitting with needles producing sensations for 15-20 minutes as is often done with standard acupuncture for adults.
It’s also up to the environment produced around the procedure, of course. If no big deal is made of it, if excessive energy isn’t put into describing the needles, how it feels, etc - the kid is less likely to be tense when the needles are inserted, and thus less likely to experience pain.
I think, also, that kids simply don’t need as rigorous treatment because in Chinese medicine we consider them “All Yang,” which is to say that their energy is very PRESENT and active. So a treatment with a strength barely able to move the Qi of a clunky old adult will completely resolve the problem in a kid. Kids have truly amazing responses to acupuncture.
I think you just need to talk to kids at their level, minimizing the discussion of sensation but being honest that they may feel something. I think it could be a strategy to begin with something a little less invasive, like cupping or moxa, so the kid gets used to this - to them - unusual form of treatment.
Honestly, I think it’s a greater problem getting kids to drink their herbs than to get them to accept acupuncture! :D
Thanks for commenting!
Eric
I’d agree with the comments above. It hurts because you expect it. But compared to slipping and falling on ice or bumping your head on a shelf, it’s doesn’t hurt at all. In fact, you wouldn’t feel it if you didn’t know it was coming.
Finally someone who admits it….acupuncture can HURT!!!