Acupuncture point placement is a hot topic in the first couple of visits for someone who has never received acupuncture before, so let’s discuss, shall we?
There are like 400+ acupuncture points on the body (yes, some in some pretty unfortunate places), but most acupuncturists generally only use 60-100 spots, depending on what we are trying to fix.
Points are located along channels or “meridians.” Think of them as the highway system of your body, and they all connect to each other and to internal organs. This is the foundation of acupuncture theory and why we might use a spot near your knee to help ease shoulder soreness.
You can expect your acupuncturist to do most of their work between your elbows and fingers, and between your knees and toes.
That’s where most of the cool stuff is.
But if you have a sore muscle, you should expect us to do work there too.
The number of points used totally depends on your acupuncturist and the style they practice. You might expect to be on the receiving end of 20-50 needles. That sounds way scarier than it is in real life. Remember the needles are teeny-tiny, and most of the time, they just barely go into the skin.
Some spots are a little more sensitive than others, but should be no big deal in the grand scheme of things. If you have any discomfort, just ask your practitioner to let you take a deep breath in before they do those spots in the future. This mostly applies to the feet.
In general, people’s comments are usually more along the line of, “I didn’t even feel that!”
Once in a while, you’ll have a spot that is slightly sensitive, but that usually goes away within 30 seconds. Again, let your person know if a point continues to give you pain — we can’t fix it if we don’t know about it!
We love the ear! The ear is a direct connection to the brain and a great way to deal with mood stuff like stress, sleep issues, addiction problems and more. Sounds weird, but just give it a try.
There are some points on your head you might get mentally prepared for. There’s a common spot on the very top of the head that is great for stuff like low energy levels, poor memory, and mood. There’s also one right between the eyebrows that is a favorite of this acupuncturist! It’s like MUTE for a chatty brain.
When in doubt, ask! “Why are you using that point?” “What will it feel like?” “Is this normal?” You’re in control, so speak up! This is cool stuff; just lie back and relax, and I bet at the end of it, you’re feeling much better!
