What is the difference between the order of acupuncture and massage

There is no absolute standard answer for the order of acupuncture and massage. Currently, the two operating logics commonly seen in the industry are "massage first, then acupuncture" and "first acupuncture, then massage." They respectively correspond to different conditioning needs, physical conditions and school habits. There is no absolute right or wrong. The core judgment criteria are the operator's conditioning goals and the user's current physical tolerance.

This is really not a nice thing to say. When I first entered the physical therapy department for follow-up consultation, I argued with the teacher about this problem. At that time, I memorized the textbook and said, "Acupuncture after loosening the soft tissue is more conducive to gaining qi." When I turned around, I met an uncle with an acute lumbar sprain. His waist was bent like a shrimp in pain. As soon as someone else raised his hand to touch his back, he screamed all over the floor. He could hear it, but it was definitely impossible to press it. The old director who attended the consultation that day did not say anything and first acupunctured Renzhong and Houxi. During the acupuncture, he asked him to hold on to the table and slowly move his waist. In about ten minutes, he was able to straighten his waist. At this time, he was gently tended and reset, and he did not suffer any pain during the whole process.

After that time I realized that order always serves the effect. The "massage first and then acupuncture" that we see most often is mostly for people with chronic strain, such as office workers who sit in the office every day. Their shoulders and necks are as hard as pork belly that has been frozen for three days, and the muscles are so tense that they are twisted into knots. If you directly insert the needle, it will not only take a long time to find the acupuncture point, but also make the person shrink in pain when inserting it. The needle may also bend, and the needle feeling cannot be transmitted to the deeper layers. First, spend 10 minutes kneading away the tight muscles on the surface. The touch of the acupuncture points will become clear immediately. When the acupuncture points are inserted, the soreness, numbness and swelling will spread far along the meridians. The effect is much better than hard insertion. For those who are afraid of needles, press for a while to relax, and the probability of needle fainting can be reduced by more than half.

Of course, masters from different schools have completely different views. When I participated in folk Chinese medicine exchange meetings before, I met several old Chinese medicine practitioners who did traditional Chinese medicine. They argued with our department director red-faced because they felt that massage would bring down the Qi and blood. The surface of the body is stirred until the body surface floats. At this time, it is difficult for acupuncture to draw Qi into the internal organs to regulate the internal organs. Instead, the acupuncture should be inserted first to open up the blocked nodes in the meridians. After the Qi flow is smooth, massage can be done to rub away the residual Qi scattered on the body surface. This can also avoid the discomfort of local soreness and swelling after the acupuncture. Most masters who do flexible bone setting also agree with this logic, saying that it is difficult to penetrate the deep tendon knots by hand kneading. First, two needles are inserted to loosen the tension in the deep layers. During bone setting, it can be reset without much effort, and the soft tissue is not easily injured.

Many young physical therapists nowadays are actually not so strict about the rules. Many of my colleagues will come in and out. For example, after inserting a needle into a client's waist for 20 minutes, they will massage the scalp and rub the wrist. The client will be so comfortable that he can fall asleep without delaying the effect. However, there are several taboos that are recognized by the entire industry: You must not press hard on the site where the needle has just been inserted within 24 hours to avoid pinhole infection or local bleeding and Sha. Most people with particularly sensitive skin that gets red at the touch of a needle will insert the needle first and wait until the needle hole is closed before massaging. Otherwise, the skin will turn red before applying the needle, which will increase the risk of infection.

To be honest, we ordinary consumers don’t need to worry too much about whether the order is correct. When you go for physical therapy, if the master does not follow the order you are used to before, you might as well ask more. Most of the adjustments are based on your physical condition that day: For example, if you have a stiff neck and can’t turn your head today, it will definitely be more comfortable to inject acupuncture first to relieve the pain than to press hard; After all, the core of physical therapy has always been to solve problems and make people feel comfortable. Sticking to the rules will only lead to inferiority.