What is the difference between acupuncture and massage

If we look at the core difference, it is actually the difference in depth of action and logic of intervention - acupuncture takes a "point-to-surface" path, stimulating specific acupuncture points to open up the flow of qi and blood along the entire meridians, and can cover deep-seated problems at the viscera, qi and blood levels; massage penetrates "from the outside to the inside" layer by layer, focusing on relaxing tense muscles, fascia and other soft tissues, and improving local circulation more directly.

Last week, I met a 20-year-old programmer who came in with a stiff neck. When he walked in, his head was tilted and his entire upper body had to move when he turned. I first massaged his shoulders and neck for 20 minutes, felt and kneaded most of his trapezius muscles, which were as hard as stone slabs. At that time, he could turn his head half a circle more. , but he still felt pain at the base of his neck and felt stiff when moving. Later, he repaired the Stiff Pillow Point and Houxi Point. When leaving the needle, he twisted it every five minutes. When the needle was removed after 10 minutes, he turned around on the spot without complaining of pain. He also said that the back of his neck, which was blocked and heavy just now, suddenly felt lighter. This is the most intuitive difference. Massage loosens the tense muscles on the surface, but does not clear the blockages in the meridians. Acupuncture directly reaches the deeper levels of qi and blood, opening up the blockages.

To put it bluntly, it is easy to understand. You can think of the blood circulation of the human body as the water supply network of an old community. Massage is like cleaning out the fallen leaves and sediment piled on the surface of the main road. Most of the time, the surface layer is clear, and the water flow in each household increases. However, if the blockage is hard scale scale deep in the underground pipe network, it will be useless no matter how clean the road surface is. You have to rely on acupuncture, a thin probe, to directly reach the blocked point to open it up, and the water supply of the entire area can be smoothed.

However, this cannot be said to be too absolute. There is also a lot of controversy in the industry. Some doctors who do soft tissue rehabilitation say that if the technique is deep enough and can penetrate into the fascia layer, it can also stimulate the meridians and have a therapeutic effect similar to acupuncture. There are also veteran Chinese medicine practitioners who have been doing massage for a lifetime. If the technique is in place, abdominal rubbing can also cure chronic gastritis and regulate uterine cold. The boundary between the two is never black and white, and it mainly depends on the level of the operator.

We ordinary people don’t have to worry about which one is better. We usually have backache after sitting for a long time, swollen legs after shopping for a day, or tight shoulders and neck after not sleeping well. Find a reliable masseuse to rub it for an hour, and the whole body will feel relaxed. There is really no need to get acupuncture for such problems. After all, many people still faint from needles. But if you encounter stubborn migraines, perennial aunt pain, or chronic gastritis that still bloats after taking medicine, the intervention efficiency of acupuncture will indeed be much higher than that of massage.

Of course, there is also the opposite situation. For example, some elderly people have severe osteoporosis or poor blood coagulation function, so the risk of acupuncture is high. On the contrary, gentle massage is more suitable. There are also some people who are born with a fear of needles and endure the acupuncture with all their muscles tensed. The effect is not as good as three down-to-earth deep relaxation sessions. I have been in this business for almost eight years. I never recommend projects to customers right away. I always touch them with my hands first. If there is a problem with the superficial muscles, I use my hands. If it is a deeper blockage of qi and blood, I will add injections. The most suitable one is the most useful.