Which one is more effective, acupuncture or massage?

To be honest, there is no absolute good or bad, it all depends on the problem you want to solve and your own tolerance. I have worked in a community physical therapy center for almost eight years, and I am asked this kind of question by patients almost two or three times every day.

Last month, I met a young girl who had just graduated. She had a stiff neck after using the air conditioner all night. Her neck was so crooked that it felt like she had been pressed on the locking button. She cried in pain when she turned even a little. I had specially made an appointment with a massage therapist. When I touched her left sternocleidomastoid muscle, it became swollen and hard into a small lump. She would hide back when I applied a little force. Massage in this situation If it was too light, it couldn't penetrate, but if it was too heavy, she couldn't bear it at all, so I discussed with her whether to try two injections, choosing the Houxi and Stiff Pillow points on the same side. After the injections were enough, let her slowly move her neck. When the injection started 15 minutes later, she could already turn left and right to 80% of the normal angle. She repeated the injection the next day, and she was basically jumping around.

Do you have to say that acupuncture is better than massage? That's not right either. Last week, there was an aunt in her 70s who suffered from knee osteoarthritis. She had to hold on to the handrails when going up and downstairs. The pain was so bad that she couldn't even go to the vegetable market on rainy days. She was born with needle-sickness. In the past, she would turn pale when taking blood for a physical examination. So I performed soft tissue release around her patella, focusing on massaging acupuncture points such as Doubi and Yanglingquan for 40 minutes each time. After the massage, she could squat most of the way on the spot. After three weeks of continuous adjustment, she now has no problem going to square dance every afternoon.

In fact, there are always different opinions on the preference of the two in the industry. The old Chinese doctors who follow me always say that acupuncture has strong penetrating power. Whether it is deep-seated muscle compression, neuralgia, or acute pain, it does not need to release muscles layer by layer. Precise acupoint selection can take effect quickly, which is more time-consuming than massage.； Master Zhang, who has been doing massage for thirty years next door, disagrees. He always says that massage is not invasive and there is no risk of injuring blood vessels and nerves by piercing the wrong position. Especially for chronic muscle strain and problems that require long-term conditioning, the acceptance of massage is too high. Many people who are afraid of needles can only rely on massage to solve their problems.

To be honest, these two are external treatment methods passed down from our ancestors. It is the same as using a corkscrew to open red wine or a utility knife to open express delivery. The tool itself has no quality, only the fit. If you encounter severe pain problems such as acute lumbar sprain, post-herpetic pain, sudden migraine, etc., and you are not afraid of the pain, then acupuncture will most likely be more effective. ； If you have stiff shoulders and neck and swollen back muscles due to sitting for a long time, and feel frightened when you see the needle, then a comfortable massage is definitely more suitable than having to carry the needle.

Don’t believe the rumors on the Internet that “massage can only relax the superficial layer, while acupuncture can cure the root cause.” I have seen many patients with lumbar protrusion who insist on targeted deep muscle release and have not experienced any symptoms for two or three years. I have also seen a girl with perennial dysmenorrhea who never took painkillers after three courses of treatment. If you are really confused, it is better to find a reliable practitioner to help you identify the problem first and choose the most suitable plan, which is much more useful than trying to decide between the two.