Can acupuncture and massage be done together and will it be effective

In most conditioning scenarios, the two can be operated together. If the symptoms are correct, the effect will be much better than doing one of them alone. However, there are indeed special circumstances where it is not suitable to do both, and they cannot be generalized.

Many colleagues do not recommend doing both at the same time, saying that acupuncture will leave tiny wounds on the skin. If you use massage cream or essential oil to massage the needle site just after the treatment, it will easily irritate the needle holes and cause redness and itchiness. Others say that heavy massage will disrupt the residual qi effect of acupuncture’s deep stimulation and counteract the effect. This statement is really not groundless. I encountered it the year before last. A eldest sister, after having acupuncture in her lumbar spine near her home, she turned around and went to do a very strong back opening with essential oils. That night, the place where the needle was inserted turned red, and the itching lasted for almost three days before it disappeared. Later, our department specially set a rule. If we do both at the same time, we must either massage first and then apply the acupuncture, or wait at least an hour before applying external ointment to the area where the acupuncture was inserted. Since then, we have never had this kind of problem again.

Speaking of which, last month there was a little girl who was working in design. Her neck was so stiff that it hurt even to raise her head to drink water. I went to a blind massage parlor and had massage once, and it took two days to get relief but she was still very stiff. When I came here, I relaxed her shoulders and neck for 10 minutes and rubbed her trapezius muscles that were so hard on the surface that they were like stone slabs. Otherwise, the muscles would be tight and the needle would not go in, and the breath would be slow. After kneading it open, I pricked the splenius cervicalis and Waiguan acupoints, leaving the needles in for 15 minutes. When the needles were removed, she could turn her head left and right on the spot. She sent me a message that afternoon saying that there was almost no pain, and it was much faster than the previous massage alone. In fact, to put it bluntly, acupuncture goes deep into the body to clear the blocked Qi and blood in the meridians, while massage relaxes the tense muscles and soft tissues on the surface. The two of them work together to connect the inside and the outside. As long as the sequence and intensity are right, the effect can be doubled.

Of course, it is not suitable for everyone. If your skin is particularly prone to allergies or there are ulcers at the needle insertion site, don't join in the fun. There are also friends with blood coagulation problems. You should be cautious when doing acupuncture alone, let alone adding massage. If you press the massage and bruises will appear, it will be troublesome. If you are treating a sensitive gastrointestinal problem, do not rub your belly immediately after pricking the abdominal acupuncture points. Many people will feel bloated and uncomfortable after doing this.

I often tell patients who come here that these two are external adjustment methods passed down from our ancestors. There is no natural conflict. It all depends on whether the operator can adjust according to your situation. Don't just mess around at home. You will basically not have any problems if you find a regular institution.