Which one is more effective, acupuncture or massage?

I have been doing physical therapy for more than ten years, and I really can't give you a black-and-white answer - there is no absolute good or bad between the two. The choice depends entirely on the adaptability to the scene and personal tolerance. If you choose the right one, it will work, but if you choose the wrong one, you will suffer.

Last week, I met a young man who had a stiff neck. His neck was as crooked as a sunflower stiffened by the wind on a field. He hissed and gasped every time he touched it. An acupuncturist he knew well originally suggested that he just insert acupuncture needles, but he was afraid of needles. The pain in his neck was so tight that it felt like a hard stone. The needle would have to be bent to insert it, so I first used gentle rubbing to loosen the knot on the sternocleidomastoid muscle for ten minutes. At that time, he was able to turn his head slightly. After that, he inserted two injections to hold the bone. When he came for a follow-up visit the next day, his neck could turn normally. Which one of the two has better results? Either one will not work so quickly.

There are indeed different opinions in the circle. Many doctors who are deeply involved in acupuncture believe that massage can only affect the superficial muscles and fascia. If you encounter deep-seated aseptic inflammation or nerve entrapment problems, you still need to rely on acupuncture to penetrate the lesion location and stimulate your own repair response. For example, when the lumbar protrusion presses against the sciatic nerve, the whole leg becomes numb. Just rubbing the waist and legs can't touch the compressed nerve roots. Acupuncture can be inserted into the acupuncture points such as Huantiao and Weizhong. The moment the needles feel on the toes, the numbness and swelling will go away, and you will feel a lot of relief. This is a depth that is difficult to reach with ordinary massage.

However, some massage masters disagree, saying that the pain in many people's bodies is originally caused by muscle tension and spasm, which compresses the surrounding tissues. If you just insert the needle, the knotted muscles will not be loosened, and the needle will retract within two hours of pulling it out. It is a waste of effort. For those office workers who sit in the office and type on the keyboard every day, their shoulders and backs are as stiff as a cold iron plate. After inserting the needle, push it along the direction of the muscle fibers for twenty minutes to slowly loosen the adhesions. The comfortable feeling can last for several days, which is much longer than the effect of acupuncture alone.

In fact, if you have been in the clinic for a long time, you will know that there is no either/or. It all depends on the patient's situation. For example, if you encounter a child who has a bad spleen and stomach and doesn't like to eat, you can't press him and give him an acupuncture, right? Chiropractic massage and belly rub for the first half of a month can whet most appetites, and children are also highly receptive to it. If you encounter a patient with periodic trigeminal neuralgia, your face hurts so much during an attack that you can't touch it, and you can't remove your hands from massage. However, a few acupuncture sessions can suppress the frequency of attacks, which is more stable than taking medicine.

By the way, there is also the most practical criterion. If you are naturally prone to needle-sickness, and your face turns pale and you break out in cold sweats when you see the needles, then you must give priority to massage. You cannot make people faint first for the effect. If you are particularly weak and the pain becomes unbearable even with a little force, and you are prone to bruises and bruises, then acupuncture is also suitable. A gentle needle prick will only make you feel a little sore and swollen, which is much more comfortable than a forced massage.