What is the difference between acupuncture and massage?

The core difference between acupuncture and massage is actually the different paths and depth of intervention. To put it simply, acupuncture is "piercing the layers with precise points", while massage is "relaxing a large area layer by layer". The courier guy who had a sprained waist last week is very typical. When he was moving goods, he stretched his deep iliopsoas muscles. The pain was so severe that he couldn't straighten his waist. I gave him a massage for half an hour. The superficial erector spinae muscles softened. He said that it no longer hurts when he stood, but When he bent over, he still felt a tugging pain deep in his waist. Later, I inserted a needle into the corresponding points of Ah Shi and Weizhong at his waist, and gently twisted it for less than half a minute. At that time, he said "Hey" and said that the pulling force dissipated immediately.

In fact, it does not mean that acupuncture is more effective than massage. Many colleagues around me still dispute the applicable boundaries of the two. Many experienced doctors who practice acupuncture believe that massage can only loosen the muscle layer at best. To regulate the internal organs and open the deep meridians, acupuncture needs to take effect quickly.； However, many friends who do bone-setting massage say that as long as the technique is in place and the deep fascia and tendon nodes can be pressed, it can achieve the same stimulating effect as acupuncture, without the need for needles, and it is very friendly to people who are afraid of pain. I agree with both of these statements. There is no distinction between superior and inferior, it's just that the adaptation situations are different.

To use an inappropriate analogy, if we compare our meridians and soft tissues to tangled headphone cords, massage is like slowly stroking the cord from beginning to end, untying the loose knots first, and the entire cord can be smoothed out a lot.； Acupuncture is like you go directly to the knot that is the most tightly entangled, and use a fine needle to pick it up, and the knot can be loosened in one stroke. It's like sitting in an office for a day and your shoulders and neck are stiff. The whole shoulder and back feel stiff, but there is no specific point that hurts. In this case, I generally recommend everyone to get a massage. It will make the whole body feel relaxed and comfortable. There is no need to suffer from acupuncture. ； But if you have a clear pain point and it hurts when you press it, or if you have facial paralysis, dysmenorrhea, chronic gastritis or other problems related to the organs and meridians, then acupuncture will be more targeted and the effect will often be faster.

By the way, there is another common misunderstanding. Many people think that acupuncture requires a sore, numb, and swollen "De Qi" feeling to be effective, and massage requires pressing until it hurts. This is not true. The amount of stimulation depends on each person's tolerance. I met a girl before, and her tolerance is The force was very weak. I used the thinnest needle when pricking the needle, but it still worked very well. On the contrary, last time a young man insisted on the masseur to press hard on him. After the massage, his back hurt so much that he had to struggle to get dressed the next day. It was completely outweighing the gain.