What is the order of acupuncture and massage

In clinical practice, most people will perform massage first and then acupuncture. Of course, there are also some special situations where the reverse is done. There is no absolute standard answer. It mainly depends on the patient's condition and conditioning needs.

Think about it, when most people come for treatment, their muscles are tight—either due to stiff shoulders and necks due to long periods of sitting, or due to muscle bundles twisted into knots due to sports strain. If you directly insert the needle, not only will the needle be easily jammed, but the strong needle sensation will also easily make people who are doing it for the first time panic. I took on a project last week and stayed up for three nights. When I came in, half of my head hurt. The trapezius muscles were as hard as sun-dried rubber. He hissed and gasped when I pressed them. I gave him 20 minutes of muscle relaxation and rubbed away the tight knots before piercing the Fengchi and shoulder wells. When the needle was inserted, he was still wondering why it was not as painful as others said. After leaving the needle for 20 minutes, most of the headache disappeared immediately.

It doesn’t mean that acupuncture first is wrong. Many colleagues I know who deal with chronic diseases like to do the opposite. For example, patients with acute lumbar sprains who are so painful that they cannot even touch their waists can't straighten their waists when they first get sick. They scream in pain when they are touched, and they can't massage them at all. At this time, they should first stab the Renzhong or Houxi points to suppress the pain first, and wait until the patient can move normally before doing the waist relaxation. The patient will suffer much less harm. In the case of regulating the spleen, stomach, and menstrual problems, some doctors will first prick the corresponding organ acupoints to draw Qi and blood, and then perform local massage, which is equivalent to "adding a buff" to the acupuncture effect, and the penetration can be much stronger.

In fact, there is really no need to worry about the order. They are all conditioning methods. As long as they are adapted to the current situation, the patient feels comfortable and the effect is achieved. At most, you should be careful not to blow cold air on the needle or drink iced drinks within 24 hours, no matter what order you finish it. Otherwise, the freshly opened Qi and blood will freeze again, and the gain will not be worth the loss.