Which one should be done first, acupuncture or massage?

In fact, there is no absolute unified standard for this matter. I have been doing physical therapy for the past six or seven years. In most cases of routine conditioning, I will give priority to massage first and then acupuncture. When encountering special diseases, the adjustment will be reversed. It all depends on the actual situation. The girl who has been doing design for a long time came here last week. Her shoulders and neck were so stiff that it was difficult to raise her head. The first time I came here, I didn’t think much about inserting the needle directly. She reported that only the surface of the punctured area was swollen, and the stiff area was not loosened at all. The second time I massaged it for her first. Twenty minutes of shoulder and neck massage loosened up the knots on the trapezius muscles that were as hard as pebbles. When the Jianjing and Tianzong treatments were performed again, she said on the spot that she felt a soreness and numbness running down her arms to her wrists. When it was over, she felt much easier when she raised her head and turned her neck.

However, some colleagues prefer acupuncture first and then massage. I myself do this when I encounter patients with acute sprains. A few months ago, a young man got distracted while carrying goods and came in holding on to the door frame. He couldn't touch his waist and grimaced when he pressed it. There was no way to massage him first. I pricked two pain points on his hands first. I performed acupuncture for two minutes and asked him to slowly turn his waist slightly. At that time, most of the pain was gone. I then used light massage to loosen his spasmed psoas muscles, and he was able to walk out on his own that day.

To put it bluntly, there is nothing mysterious. Massage first and then acupuncture is equivalent to opening up the blocked Qi and blood pathways in the shallow layers first. When the muscles are relaxed, the Qi of acupuncture can more easily penetrate into the deeper layers, and the effect can last longer. Moreover, after those who are afraid of needles relax, the pain of needle insertion will be much lighter. On the other hand, when acupuncture is given first, most of the time the patient is in too much pain to touch, or the patient needs acupuncture to smooth out the chaotic Qi movement first, so that the massage will not be in vain. Before I usually arrange a program for my clients, I will first feel the local muscle condition and ask if they are afraid of needles or have severe pain. Just adjust the order flexibly. There are no rigid rules that must be followed. The most important thing is to be comfortable and achieve results.