The difference and connection between the effects of acupuncture and massage

Acupuncture and massage both belong to the non-drug external treatment category of traditional Chinese medicine. Their core function logic is to regulate the flow of qi and blood by stimulating the meridians and acupoints, but their effects are obviously different. Acupuncture is good at penetrating superficial tissues and targeting deep fascial inflammation, organ dysfunction, acute Sexual pain and neurological diseases have a faster onset of effect; massage focuses on relaxing superficial muscles and loosening local adhesions, and is more suitable for relieving daily strain and conditioning muscle problems. The two are often used together in clinical practice. There is no absolute distinction between high and low, and each scene has its own focus.

Last month I saw a programmer who had been working on a project for three days. He had stiff neck and his neck was twisted at 90 degrees. When he came in, he even had to help him pick up his backpack. He said that he had been rubbing it at home for half an hour, and the more he rubbed it, the more painful it became. I first pricked the stiff neck point and Hegu point on his hand, and I performed the acupuncture for 1 minute and asked him to slowly turn his neck. He stared at it at that time, "Huh? He can actually turn it?". The pain disappeared by 60%, and all that was left was the hard knot stuck in the upper trapezius muscle. I used rolling and plucking to loosen it for 10 minutes, and his neck straightened out on the spot. This is the most typical combination: acupuncture first opens the blocked meridians to relieve acute pain, and then massages to loosen local adhesions to avoid recurrence. If you only use acupuncture, the induration will easily relapse if it is not loosened. If you only use massage, the pain will be so painful that he cannot bear the intensity, and it will easily tear the muscles.

Many people think that "massage is just for comfort, and acupuncture is needed to cure diseases." This is actually not entirely true. The views of different schools are quite different. The traditional school of acupuncture has always said "one needle, two moxibustion and three medicines". It is also said in "Lingshu" that "the key point of needling is the arrival of Qi and it is effective". The advantage of acupuncture is that it does not need to be buffered by skin and fat. The needle body can directly act on acupuncture points, fascial layers and even deeper locations. For example, patients with long-term spleen and stomach deficiency will have diarrhea after eating cold food, Zusanli injection or moxibustion in the midsection. Generally, you can feel the warmth in your stomach after three times. If you just rub your belly, it will take a long time to reach that depth. Not to mention neurological problems such as facial paralysis and postherpetic neuralgia. Massage can basically only be used as an auxiliary. The intervention effect of acupuncture is clear. Among the indications of acupuncture listed by the WHO, the efficacy of more than 40 diseases is supported by clinical data. Oh, by the way, some people also asked me whether the needle would prick a nerve. Regularly practicing doctors have undergone systematic anatomy training, and this kind of problem will basically not occur. On the contrary, it is more likely to cause problems when irregular masseurs violently pull the neck. I would like to remind everyone that no matter what you choose, you must find a qualified and formal institution.

But this is not absolute. When I studied with an old-school master who did visceral massage in the early years, he told me that as long as the technique is accurate and thorough, massage can solve no less problems than acupuncture. He has encountered many patients who fainted from acupuncture. For those with spleen and stomach deficiencies, he used internal organs pushing and kneading techniques to penetrate into the abdominal cavity to stimulate the corresponding reflex zones of the spleen, shu, and stomach, which can be adjusted. For patients with acute lumbar sprains, he used the oblique pulling method to deepen deep muscle relaxation and be able to walk on the spot. It is faster than acupuncture, and it is not invasive. There is no need to worry about cross-infection. The elderly and children are much more accepting of it.

It would be better to put it in ordinary people's daily scenarios: if you sit at work all day, your shoulders and neck are stiff and your back is sore, you will definitely not rush to get an acupuncture as your first reaction. You can rub it yourself twice or find a massage parlor for half an hour, and you will feel comfortable immediately. For this kind of superficial muscle strain, massage is much more cost-effective. But if you have been in pain for more than half a month and it is difficult to raise your hand, go and check whether the rotator cuff injury has deep-seated aseptic inflammation, which cannot be penetrated by ordinary massage. If you insert a few needles into the shoulder joint and Quchi, and add an electro-acupuncture, the inflammation will disappear much faster.

In fact, it is rare to use a single method in clinical practice nowadays. When I treat patients with lumbar disc herniation, I usually use Yaoyanguan, Weizhong, and Kunlun first to eliminate the edema of the nerve roots and reduce the pain to an acceptable level. Then I use massage and stretching to straighten the misplaced small joints and loosen the tense erector spinae muscles. The recovery speed is at least one-third faster than acupuncture or massage alone. The treatment for insomniacs is more obvious. After Baihui and Shenmen, then massage the temples and Yintang of the head and face to relax the head. Customers generally report that they fall asleep more than twice as fast.

Many people are arguing on the Internet now, saying that acupuncture is a placebo and massage is just for relaxation and cannot cure the disease. In fact, there is really no need to argue about right and wrong. Individual differences are too great. Some people are particularly sensitive to needles and will see results after just one prick. Some people are naturally afraid of needles and their whole body feels tight as soon as they lie down on the treatment bed. The massage effect is even better. I met an aunt who had high blood pressure before. The doctor asked her to prick the Taichong acupoint to lower her blood pressure. She fainted when she saw the needle. Later, I taught her to press Taichong for 10 minutes every day. I persisted for three months and her blood pressure stabilized a lot. Which one do you think is more effective?

To put it bluntly, these two are like the screwdriver and wrench in your toolbox. Each has its own use. No one is better than the other. The key is to see whether you want to tighten the screw or the nut. If you choose the right scene, it will work no matter how you use it. If you really can't figure out what to choose, it's much more useful to ask a reliable physical therapist than to mess around on the Internet.