9 Acupuncture Myths
Myth #1 Acupuncture isn’t supposed to hurt:
False. Acupuncture can be “sensation-full” (sensational?). We want the body to know the needles are there. There are some more subtle methods in Japanese acupuncture that are less sensation full, and there are very gentle techniques in east asian acupuncture traditions from china and korea as well, but there was never a class in school where the teachers said - your patient shouldn’t feel the needles.
What it SHOULD feel like: insertion should feel like getting a hair plucked, there should be a heavy or distended sensation that lingers as long as the practitioner is manipulating the needle, then it all subsides after manipulation ceases. Muscle twitches at the site of the needle can be surprising, but is quite normal, and almost always a good thing - muscles jumping out of spasm.
Occasionally, a sharp burning sensation that lingers beyond 2-3 seconds can occur, just let your practitioner know, and they can move it. A sharp burning sensation isn't necessary for acupuncture to be effective.
The practitioner's job is to balance the amount of discomfort with the amount of benefit. Acu’s don't get into the medicine to do harm, but acupuncture can be very “hurt now feel better later.”
Many of the clinics I would train at, you could hear shouting and screaming through the door - it would sound like this: “ow ow ow!! Stop!!! Omg that feels so much better, can you do my calves now? AHH #$%(!. Yeah that the spot, that's so much better, thanks.”
Myth #2 Acupuncture is good for pretty much everything: Ok maybe this isn't really a thing that people go around saying, but there are plenty of time’s in which acupuncture is a fantastic first choice, and many times where it’s not a great first choice.
When it’s NOT a great first choice: Treating cancerous growths (might be a great addition to the treatment of cancer, but probably not a primary, first choice), Heart attack (maybe if you’re having a heart attack at the acupuncturist’s office, it could be life saving while waiting for the ambulance to get there, bit if you’re having a heart attack, don't call the acu), Appendicitis (go to the hospital immediately), Sepsis and septic infections (go to the hospital immediately), very emergent and emergency conditions like that.
Might be a great first choice for: carpal tunnel, sciatica, neuropathy, digestive issues, chronic fatigue, athletic injuries, orthopedics, and almost anything else that isn't a proper, “go to the hospital right now” type emergency.
Myth #3 Acupuncture is all placebo: Many people think there’s no science behind acupuncture which isn’t true - that it’s all in your head. Acupuncture works for what it works for, whether you believe or not.
Myth #4 Acupuncture is all about energy, right: False. Acupuncture discusses Qi. Qi and energy are not the same thing, and are not the same Chinese word. Qi refers to “limitless fire,” or metabolic force, or the combination of fire, water, and steam that blows the lid off of a rice pot. It’s a scientific concept that can be tested and repeated, though is hard to measure with modern instrumentation. There are many projects aiming to measure Qi, or manifestations and aspects of it. Just because it’s hard to measure, doesn’t mean it doesn't exist.
Let’s look at the oxford dictionary definition of Energy
(n)
“the strength and vitality required for sustained physical or mental activity.” (there is some overlap between the concepts of energy, strength and mental activity that correlate to Qi, but those concepts are “Li - strength” and Yi-intellect”
power derived from the utilization of physical or chemical resources, especially to provide light and heat or to work machines. (now that I look at this - this is actually a bit closer than I previously thought but it’s still not the exact same thing)
Qi is:
Previously defined as the “limitless fire of the universe” which is a very big idea to rein in.
The coordination of mind, breath and musculature
Fire + Water + Steam
Myth #5 Acupuncture “works on the nerves:” eh… maybe sorta, kinda not really though. There was sort of a movement in medicine a few decades back in the USA that aimed to, sort of translate or boil acupuncture down into “nerves”, saying for example, this acupuncture point relates to this nerve, and that point relates to that nerve, and anything that happens, is because of the needle’s relationship to that major nerve.
I think the reality is a bit more of a venn diagram/vesica piscis overlap, that acupuncture can influence nerve conductivity, and send messages to the brain by stimulating nerves, but that doesn’t explain all principles and phenomena of acupuncture and the meridian or channel systems.
There are systems of acupuncture, within the field of acupuncture that structure treatments around neuromuscular junctions, or nerve compartments (areas of the body dedicated to specific branches of the nervous system, like labeling or numbering branches on a tree), and treating them accordingly. This is called NEUROFUNCTIONAL acupuncture. One of the major teachers of this technique in the USA is Professor Dan Wunderlich: http://danwunderlich.com/ .
“This point [usually between the thumb and forefinger] is good for headache:”
It CAN be good - it's a bit like saying the circuit breaker for the kitchen fixes the refrigerator. It CAN sort out certain problems, but if the problem isn't related to that particular circuit breaker or acupoint, it won't be very helpful.
In a way it's nice that people know that LI 4 (large intestine channel point #4) can benefit headaches and stress, yet it's unfortunate that people don’t pass on the context to make the points “work” or to “turn the points on”
Myth #6 Just try acupuncture - couldn’t hurt, right?: If it’s strong enough to help, it’s strong enough to hurt. That doesn’t mean you should be afraid to try acupuncture, but the myth is that something that can help, can't hurt - and that’s just not true.
Myth #7 Acupuncture and acupressure are the same thing: Acupressure and Acupuncture utilize the same exact pathways and the manipulations in acupuncture and acupressure are similar but different. Your finger can’t manipulate the tissue beneath the skin the same way that a needle can. Could you do similar things with fingers and needles? Sure? Are they the same? Maybe. Are they different? Maybe.
Myth #8 Acupuncture is art or not a science:
Oxford definition of science: (n) the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation, experimentation, and the testing of theories against the evidence obtained.
By this definition acupuncture is, without question, unequivocally, 100%, by definition, a science, and a medical science at that. It is not at all a “pseudoscience” or “quackery” as many would have you believe.
Acupuncture is a science because there are repeatable principles, repeatable “recipes;” in other words, someone across the world theoretically could take the same recipe and get similar results, assuming they have similar training.
Oxford definition of art: “(n) the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination”
There’s an argument for elements of art in acupuncture with that definition.
Myth #9 Acupuncture is magic not medicine: “Science looks like magic to the uninitiated” the MOA mechanisms of action in acupuncture are repeatable, and based in repeatable principles, and empirical discovery. If you are expecting magic, you may be sorely disappointed.
That being said, acupuncture was ABSOLUTELY magical to me, and I had to learn the science behind it.
Thank you for reading! (Please share this with someone who’s health you think may benefit from this, if you’d like)