The order of acupuncture and massage is

There is no absolutely uniform and fixed sequence for acupuncture and massage. In clinical operations, priority is usually given to flexible adjustments based on conditioning goals, body tolerance, and operating habits of different schools. The most common routine is "massage first, then acupuncture." However, there are also a large number of scenarios where the operations are reversed or even interspersed.

Most of the time, I choose massage first and then acupuncture. To put it bluntly, it means to "warm up" the body first. A while ago, a girl who works in Internet operations came to me to have her shoulders and neck adjusted. She had been working on the project for almost half a month. Her trapezius muscles were as hard as dry sweet potatoes that had been dried for three days. She grimaced in pain even if she pressed them. If the needle is inserted directly, the muscles will be so tense that they wrap around the needle body, not to mention the air conduction, and it will be difficult for the needle to penetrate, and the girl will have to suffer a lot of pain. I first used the rolling method to loosen her superficial muscles for 15 minutes, and slowly rubbed away the knotted areas. She was slumped on the treatment bed and a little sleepy before the injection was performed. Within half a minute, she said, "Hey, the soreness has traveled down the neck to the elbows." After the injection, she turned her neck and said that her head felt lighter.

However, this order is not a golden rule. The logic of many traditional physical therapy schools is just the opposite. I used to study with an intangible cultural heritage bone setting teacher. When he encountered patients with chronic lumbar protrusion, he always inserted acupuncture first and then started bone setting. According to him, acupuncture is equivalent to "positioning and energizing" the deep muscle nodes first. Two or three needles are placed in the middle and the Ashi point is inserted. The patient who was originally too stiff to bend can be moved a little, and the deep strain points will also appear. At this time, the vertebral body will be pressed and adjusted again. Not to mention using the correct force, the patient will have less muscle resistance and suffer less. I have seen an old man who had a lumbar protrusion and couldn't even put on his shoes. After five minutes of injection, he could turn around by holding on to the head of the bed. After setting the bone, he could walk slowly on the spot. The effect was much faster than the injection first and then injection.

There are also many times when the order is not so stuck at all. When I met a patient who was particularly afraid of needles, I would first apply pressure on him for twenty minutes, which made him relax. Then I inserted the needle while he was not paying attention. By the time he realized it, he was already angry, and there was no severe pain that he had imagined before. If a client comes for daily health care and has no specific ailments but just wants to relax and relieve fatigue, I often prick the acupuncture points for half an hour and then do a full-body massage after the acupuncture treatment. After the relaxation is over, the customer goes home and has a good sleep. The satisfaction is very high. When patients come to treat cold legs in winter, I also like to intersperse them: first rub and heat the skin around the knees, insert two needles into the Zusanli and knee holes, massage the muscles on the legs while leaving the needles in place, and then focus on rubbing the cold areas for a while after removing the needles. Compared with doing the two items completely separately, the effect of dispelling cold is not at all better.

Many posts on the Internet say that "if you do it in the wrong order, it will be in vain or even hurt your body." This is completely alarmist. As long as it is a compliant operation of a formal organization, there will be no health risks no matter which one is done first. The order has always served the effect and experience. If you are really unsure, just tell the physical therapist your pain tolerance, whether you have a history of needle fainting, and the areas you want to improve most before the operation. The professional therapist will naturally adjust the plan that best suits you. After all, comfort and usefulness are the core criteria for physical therapy.