Which is more effective, acupuncture or massage?

In fact, there is no absolute "more effective" at all. The difference in effectiveness between the two is never the technology itself, it all depends on the people and symptoms it is suitable for.

I have been doing rehabilitation physiotherapy for almost ten years, and I have been asked this question hundreds of times. If I really want to explain it clearly, it would be better to take two patients I met recently as examples to make it more clear. Last week, a little girl who was just entering college came here. Her neck was so stiff when she slept with a stiff neck that she felt like it was welded to death. When she came in, she grabbed my sleeve and told me that she had been dizzy from needles since she was a child. Her legs felt weak when they saw the needles. I didn't force it. I felt the trigger point at the upper end of my left trapezius muscle and rubbed it with it. After 15 minutes of loosening with the French + rolling method, she then gently stretched her neck. She was able to turn her head left and right on the spot, and even jumped up and said she wanted to drink milk tea before going out. In this case, do you think that massage is more suitable for her than acupuncture, and the effect is more direct?

But the old Chen who came here last month and suffered from lumbar disc herniation for 3 years is different. He said that he had his wife press the massage at home and go to the health center to apply for card massage for almost two months, but his waist still hurts. Sitting for more than 10 minutes would cause numbness from the buttocks to the heel. The X-ray showed that the 4-5 lumbar disc herniation pressed on the nerve roots. This kind of deep compression cannot be penetrated by the intensity of ordinary massage. Pressing hard may aggravate local edema. I inserted needles into his waist Jiaji, Weizhong, and Chengshan acupuncture points, and added low-frequency electroacupuncture and left it for 20 minutes. After the first treatment, he said that the numbness in his legs was reduced by 30%. After a week of continuous treatment, he was able to sit and watch cartoons with his grandson for half an hour. At this time, the advantages of acupuncture cannot be compared with massage.

We often hear two extreme opinions. Some people think that massage is not risky and can be used in any situation. This is not true. If you encounter an acute ankle sprain within 48 hours, or the acute stage of cervical joint dislocation, pressing without permission will aggravate the inflammation. In severe cases, there may even be a risk of displacement. At this time, not to mention massage, even acupuncture must first select distal acupoints for analgesia, and then touch the local area after the edema has subsided. Some people think that acupuncture is effective quickly and can be treated with acupuncture for any problem. If you encounter abnormal coagulation function or local skin damage and infection, it is not recommended to touch it, let alone acupuncture. Gentle massage is safer.

I usually make plans for patients and never stick to one. For example, I often meet Internet office workers who sit for a long time and have shoulders and necks as stiff as stone slabs and suffer from migraines. I usually give two injections of Fengchi and Taiyang to suppress the pain in the upper part of the head, and then use 10 minutes to knead the tight muscles in the shoulders and neck. When used together, it is much more comfortable and faster to recover than using one alone. If you are really confused about which one to choose, it is better to find a formal organization to evaluate your problems first and find out what your tolerance is. It is much more useful than blindly comparing technologies.