What is the difference between the effects of acupuncture and massage?

To put it simply, the core difference in efficacy between the two is the depth of action and the different dimensions of adjustment - acupuncture can penetrate deep into the muscles and even the reflection points corresponding to the organs, and regulates the circulation of qi and blood throughout the body and the functions of the organs.； Massage mostly works on the superficial layers of fascia and muscles, focusing on local relaxation and immediate pain relief.

I usually stay in community clinics for a long time, and I have encountered many similar cases. Last week, there was a young man who worked in the Internet. He sat for more than 12 hours all year round. His shoulders and neck were as stiff as frozen slates. He had a headache for almost half a month when he pulled his right side and couldn't take painkillers. When he first came here, he was afraid of getting acupuncture, so he had to do a massage first. I massaged his shoulders and neck for 40 minutes, and most of the hard knots in the trapezius muscles were rubbed away. He could turn his neck in full circles when he stood up, and 70% of the soreness and pain were gone. He left happily. However, he sent a message early the next morning saying that he woke up with a headache again, which was not much different from before. Later, I reluctantly gave him partial injections of Fengchi and Jianjing, plus the distal parts of Hegu and Taichong. He almost fell asleep while the needles were left in for 20 minutes. When he woke up, the headache subsided immediately. He also said that the acid reflux he had been suffering from recently was much better. After three injections in a row, he came for a follow-up visit this week and said that he never had headaches again, and even the fatigue after staying up late was much lighter.

Nowadays, many friends say that the deep massage or bone setting with sufficient intensity has no shallower effect than acupuncture. I completely agree with this point. If you meet an experienced muscle management master who can touch the deep muscle knots and slowly loosen them, the improvement effect on local strains that have accumulated for a long time is really as good as acupuncture. However, it is difficult for massage to reach the internal organs through distal acupoint selection like acupuncture. For example, if the spleen and stomach are deficient all year round and diarrhea occurs after eating something cold, acupuncture will be inserted into Zusanli and Zhongwan, and the translucent sensation will be transmitted to the stomach immediately. If you press Zusanli with your hands, it will take more than ten minutes to have a weak effect, and it is difficult to achieve the penetrating Qi feeling of acupuncture. Of course, there is also a school of viscera massage that specializes in improving gastrointestinal problems by rubbing the corresponding reflex zones of the abdomen, and the effect is not bad. We in the industry are still doing more clinical comparisons in this area, and there is no absolute one who is better or worse.

To put it bluntly, if your legs are sore after working out the day before and you have trouble going down the stairs, or if you wake up in the morning with a stiff neck and can’t move, find a reliable massage parlor for half an hour. It will make you feel comfortable quickly and cost-effectively.； But if you have an old lumbar protrusion that has been hurting for two or three months, or if you have minor problems all over your body such as irregular menstruation or poor sleep all year round, then acupuncture will definitely be better in its pertinence and long-term effectiveness.