Does Acupuncture Hurt?
Needle sensation is a funny thing. For years I got acupuncture treatments with really gentle needling, almost felt nothing and I loved it. I saw good results, and I felt very comfortable. When I decided to go to school for acupuncture I was afraid of needles at first, and having first time students practice on you doesn’t really make that fear dissipate. I was afraid that feeling a sensation of the needle would register as pain. Once I started studying the chinese language I learned what De Qi means and what to expect when you achieve the arrival of Qi to the needle, I began to explore this sensation in my own body and with my patients. Now I love to feel needle sensation, but it isn’t that way for everyone, and that is okay too.
Dé Qì 得气 to obtain the arrival of Qi.
For some practitioners they interpret this as feeling the arrival of Qi in the needle in an objective way, the practitioner feels the arrival of Qi. I learned and practice that the arrival of Qi can be felt by the patient and you can explore this during treatment by keeping a really good line of communication open. Most of my patients love to explore the felt sense of activation in their bodies. There are four sensations that you might experience.
Suān 酸 — Sore, this might feel like a sore muscle at and around the acupuncture point.
Má 麻 — Numbness, Tingling, this might feel like a traveling sensation up or down the channel.
Zhàng 胀 — Distention, Inflation, this might feel like a heaviness where the needle has been inserted.
Tòng 痛 — Pain, this is the one we don’t want and can readjust the needle to find a comfortable space.
During a treatment, I always meet a patient where they are at. The main point of acupuncture is to get the body into a parasympathetic state so there is an increase in circulation, blood and Qi move to the directed areas in the body, and the patient moves toward balance and healing. If you are afraid of the needles and I really turn up the dial on sensation, this space of calm might not be attainable. There is no one right way to do this medicine. The circulation of Qi through all the channels in the body takes 28.5 minutes, so even if the patient doesn’t feel sensation, with long retention, the Qi can reach all the needles.
