Acupuncture and pain – does it hurt?

Acupuncture? Ouch! That must hurt, right? Hmmm, not really. My patients do not feel pain with their treatments.

How is it possible for acupuncture to not hurt?

There are many different kinds of ‘needles.’ When we think of acupuncture or needles, we often think of the medical needles that are used to draw blood. These are not at all the same.

Needles that are used to draw blood are very sharp so that they can slice through the vein to enter the blood vessel. Acupuncture needles are more like the ballpoint sewing needle – the tip is more rounded. When it comes near a blood vessel, it often ‘bounces’ off the tough protective layer of the vessel and causes no bleeding. Rarely does the needle get lined up just right to cause bleeding.

And then there’s the issue of needle thickness. Acupuncture needles do not need to inject medication or remove blood, so they can be really, really thin. As a matter of fact, in my office I can show you 2 acupuncture needles inside a regular hypodermic needle. That means that those two acupuncture needles are thinner than the INSIDE of regular medical needles.

Both the kind of needle and the thickness of the needle mean that your experience with acupuncture treatments should be relaxing, free of pain, and wonderful!