What are the differences and connections between acupuncture and massage?

Simply put, both are the core means of external treatment in traditional Chinese medicine. The core logic is to adjust the flow of qi and blood by stimulating the meridians and acupoints. However, the paths of action and adaptation scenarios have different emphasis, and they are often used together.

A little while ago, a young girl who had just graduated had a stiff neck after using the air conditioner all night. Her neck was so stiff that it felt like it was welded together. She had to turn her entire upper body to even turn her head to pick up the water glass on the table. I felt her superficial trapezius muscle spasm. I rolled her shoulders and neck for ten minutes, and then loosened the muscles in her upper back, and she was able to turn her neck left and right on the spot. If she has deep scalene muscle compression, which is accompanied by numbness in her arm, and she cannot penetrate it even after pressing for a long time, she has to insert the Fengchi or Jianjing. When the needle tip touches the compressed area, the numbness will go away. Leave the needle for twenty minutes, and most of the numbness in the arm will subside on the spot. To give an inappropriate analogy, if the meridians are compared to the water supply pipes at home, massage is like rubbing the floating dust and soft lumps on the outer wall of the pipes. The superficial blockage is light, and it will be unblocked after a few rubs. Acupuncture is like exploring the inside of the pipes, breaking open the hard knots and blockages in the deep layers, and the force goes deeper.

Nowadays, many people are arguing on the Internet, saying that massage is non-invasive and must be safer than acupuncture. In fact, we all in this industry know that the risk has nothing to do with the method, but more to do with the person doing the operation. I once met a young man who felt dizzy for several days after massaging his neck at a roadside shop. The masseur accidentally pulled his neck and pulled the vertebral artery. On the contrary, a regular acupuncturist knows the depth and angle of each acupuncture point.

When it comes to clinical use, we rarely stick to just one type, and we always adjust based on the patient's condition. Last week, an aunt suffered from an acute attack of lumbar protrusion. She was brought in by a family member. The pain was so severe that she could not straighten her waist. She was first pricked at two acupuncture points on the Jiaji and Weizhong of her waist. After the acupuncture was done, the needles were left to bake the magic lamp. First, the edema in the deep nerve roots was eliminated. After the pain subsided, she used light techniques to relax her erector spinae and quadratus lumborum muscles that had been tight for almost a week. After three days of continuous acupuncture, she was able to walk for a follow-up visit on her own. If you only insert acupuncture, the superficial muscles will be as stiff as a stone slab, and the blood cannot disperse, and the recovery will be slow. If you only press, the force will not reach the nerve roots, and the pain will not stop. The two of them can just make up for their respective shortcomings. Even office workers who usually do health care are the same. If they just have sore shoulders and necks after working overtime that day, they can be relieved by pressing them for 20 minutes. If they have been stiff for more than half a year and feel comfortable one day but then go back to the next day, they can use a few shallow needles to loosen the deep muscle knots, which can last several times longer.

After all, both are good things passed down from our ancestors. There is no way to say that one is better than the other. The most important thing is to adapt to your own situation.