Is Acupuncture Painful? And If So, Why?

Well, in short yes, Acupuncture can be painful.

This is a question asked quite frequently. Firstly, Acupuncture needles are extremely different to syringe needles which Medical Doctors use and are what most people think of when they think or refer of needles. Syringes are designed to pierce the body and actually puncture through blood vessels to either take blood, insert an IV or inject medication. Syringes are thicker than acupuncture needles. Acupuncture needles are ultra thin and are made almost rounded at the tip, which makes them able to gently push away or slide past sensory nerves endings & blood vessels when inserted.

When receiving Acupuncture, you may feel a tiny sting for a miller second as the acupuncture needle goes through the first few layers of the skin which is the part of the body most abundant is nerve endings. Some parts of the body are way more saturated in nerve endings that other parts. This is why sometimes when receiving AAcupuncture on the face or fingers you feel the tiny sting way more than getting it on the back.

Besides that tiny initial sting that you may or may not feel, Acupuncture shouldn’t hurt. If that stinging sensation on the initial needle insertion stays and doesn’t go away after a second, then it means that the needle is either resting on a nerve ending, or the needle has nicked a blood vessel that a nerve ending is located close to. To stop this from hurting we simply adjust the needle depth or take the needle out. If there is blood when we take the needle out, that means that we did indeed nick a blood vessel. Do not stress if this occurs as It is common for at least 1 point to bleed in an Acupuncture session. However, when a needle does nick a blood vessel it may or may not be felt, it all depending on if a is nerve ending is attached and location close to the part of the blood vessel that was punctured..

In our next Blog, we will discuss What Acupuncture feels like?