Which is more effective, acupuncture or massage?

In fact, there is no absolute "who is more effective" between the two. As two classic methods of external treatment in traditional Chinese medicine, their action logic and adaptation scenarios are completely different. If you choose the right adaptation problem, either one can have miraculous effects. If you choose the wrong one, no matter how brilliant the method is, it will be useless.

I have been in the physical therapy industry for almost eight years, and I use both methods every day. I have seen too many examples of "choose the right method and get results in seconds." Last week, I met a young man who suffered an acute lumbar sprain and facet joint disorder when his waist slipped while moving goods. He was in so much pain that he couldn't even sit down on a chair while holding his waist while walking through the door. In this case, I would definitely start with a massage, using rolling and kneading methods to loosen his spastic erector spinae muscles, and then skillfully straighten the misplaced small joints. In less than fifteen minutes, the young man could walk straight on the spot. Think about it, if I had to insert an acupuncture first, he would be in so much pain that he couldn't even get into a proper posture, and the effect would definitely be slower.

But in another situation, massage would not work. I once had an aunt in her sixties who suffered from trigeminal neuralgia for almost three months. She could not touch the left side of her face. She was even careful when brushing her teeth and eating. It was impossible to massage her in this situation. I used dialectical acupuncture points on Hegu, Xiaguan and Yifeng for her. I pricked them three times, and 70% of the pain disappeared. The aunt herself thought it was magical.

It’s no wonder that everyone is confused about which one is better. The industry itself also has different tendencies. Most of the massage therapists who have a background in traumatology massage feel that massage is more direct, and the force penetrates into the muscle fascia. For structural problems such as strains, adhesions, and small joint dislocations, you can know where the problem is by just touching it. You will feel comfortable when you loosen it, which is much more intuitive than acupuncture.； But doctors who specialize in acupuncture don’t think so. For those untouchable neuralgias, or problems such as dysmenorrhea, migraine, and chronic insomnia related to qi and blood circulation and organ imbalance, the power of massage cannot reach such a deep level. Acupuncture selects acupoints along the meridians and regulates the overall qi and blood status, so the effects are faster.

In fact, if we really want to be honest, most of the time we won't stick to just one kind. After all, people's problems are rarely single. Last month, a design girl came here. Her shoulders and neck were as hard as frozen plastic plates. It was difficult to turn her head. She couldn't sleep for half a month, and she got a migraine in the afternoon. I first used the rolling method to loosen her shoulders and back for 20 minutes, and kneaded open the knots on the trapezius muscles that were as hard as small stones. The pain no longer hurt when she turned her head. I gave her four more needles: Jianjing, Baihui, Taiyang, and Sanyinjiao. I left the needles for 20 minutes. When she woke up, she said her eyes were bright. She slept for eight hours that night, which was better than massage or acupuncture alone.

To put it bluntly, wondering whether acupuncture or massage is more effective is actually like wondering whether it is more comfortable to wear sneakers or leather shoes when going out. It all depends on which way you want to walk and what occasion you are going to. When you really feel uncomfortable, it is much more useful to find a reliable practitioner for dialectical consultation than to blindly choose methods on your own.