The difference between acupuncture and acupoint massage

Both of these seem to be conditioning methods that act on acupoints. The core difference is essentially "complete differences in stimulation levels, invasiveness, and adaptability to scenarios." Acupuncture is an invasive medical operation that can act on deep meridians and tissues to solve organic and deep blockage problems.； Massage is a non-invasive method of relaxation/conditioning, which mostly acts on superficial soft tissues. It is more suitable for daily health care and mild discomfort relief. The two are by no means interchangeable and similar operations.

Last week, I met a sophomore girl who came to the outpatient clinic to see her stiff neck. She was sitting with her neck crooked and did not dare to move. She asked me if I could teach her to press acupoints instead of acupuncture because she was afraid of pain. I touched her trapezius muscle, which was as tight as a frozen pork tenderloin, with a knot the size of a soybean inside. I told her that even three days of massage might not make it go away, but two injections would turn her head around in twenty minutes. If you press the acupuncture points yourself, even if you press them hard with your knuckles, you will only reach the superficial fascia layer 1-3 mm under the skin at most, and you will not be able to touch the deep muscle knots at all. At most, the surrounding muscles will relax, making the pain less severe. The filiform needles of acupuncture can penetrate from 5 millimeters to several centimeters under the skin, accurately hitting the blocked tendons or the depth of the corresponding meridians. When a "Deqi" feeling of soreness, numbness and swelling appears, the stimulation is in place, which is equivalent to directly removing the blocked "meridian nodes". "Pull it open. This is an effect that no matter how hard you massage, you can't achieve it. To put it in layman's terms, it's like if your sewer pipe is clogged. No matter how bright it is by rubbing the outer wall, the clogged spots on the inside will still be leaking. Massage is wiping away the floating dust on the outer wall, while acupuncture is directly opening up the clogged spots on the inside.

Regarding the priority of the two effects, practitioners in different fields actually have quite different opinions. Old doctors of the traditional acupuncture school often say, "If the needle doesn't go in, the Qi won't come in." They believe that when it comes to problems involving organ imbalance, old injuries, and deep blockages, the strength of the massage cannot penetrate the problem at all and can only be used as an auxiliary. For example, for patients with perennial dysmenorrhea, acupuncture at Sanyinjiao and Guanyuan can directly mobilize deep Qi and blood. If you press Guan Yuan hard, it will be warm at most, but it will still hurt after two hours. But doctors who engage in modern rehabilitation massage don’t see it that way. They think that for 90% of daily mild discomforts, massage is much more cost-effective and safer. For example, office workers have a stiff neck after sitting for a long time, but there are no hard knots to the touch, and they can turn their heads normally. At this time, acupuncture is just a fuss. If you press the Fengchi and shoulder wells for two minutes, the tightness will disappear immediately. You can’t take out a needle when you feel uncomfortable at work, right?

Speaking of which, I have come across something even more outrageous. Last month, a middle-aged brother learned how to perform Zusanli by following a short video at home. He failed to find the correct position and punctured the common peroneal nerve. His entire leg was numb for three days before he dared to come to the hospital. Fortunately, no permanent damage was caused. Think about it, acupuncture is a serious medical operation that must be carried out with a medical practitioner's certificate. If it is not disinfected properly, it is easy to get infected. If the needle is inserted in the wrong position, it may cause a lump in the slightest, or it may damage the nerves or pierce the organs. There are many taboos. People who are faint from needles, have poor coagulation function, or have skin ulcers cannot be inserted. But massage is not so particular. As long as you don’t press too hard and blindly, ordinary people can find the right position according to the tutorial, and control the force to a degree that is a little sore but not tingling. There will basically be no problems. Even pregnant women as long as they avoid acupuncture points such as Hegu and Sanyinjiao that can easily cause contractions, press Neiguan to relieve morning sickness, and press temples to relieve headaches, it is quite safe.

I usually don't ask people to get acupuncture when I go out to the clinic. If the patient just has a headache after staying up late recently, or has bloating after eating too much, I usually directly teach the acupuncture points to be massaged and let him massage them at home, so that he does not suffer the consequences of acupuncture. But if it has been painful for a month or two, or if there are obvious blockages or knots in the deep layers, it is still recommended to cooperate with acupuncture. Otherwise, massage alone may not be able to have the effect of acupuncture even if it takes half a month.

In fact, the relationship between the two is not either/or. In clinical practice, I often press and relax the corresponding acupuncture points for two minutes after the acupuncture. This can relieve the soreness and swelling caused by the acupuncture, and can also make the qi and blood disperse faster, and the effect is better. To put it bluntly, you don’t have to worry about which one to choose. For daily health care and mild discomfort, choose massage. If the problem is serious or the blockage is deep, go to a regular doctor for acupuncture. Don’t think about alternatives on your own, let alone just do acupuncture at home.