Miranda does acupuncture!  But what is acupuncture really like?

I find that many patients come to their first session feeling quite apprehensive.  But is acupuncture really as bad as shown in this video?

I’d like to point out that I’m not nearly as scary as the character played by Miranda in this super clip from “Not Going Out”.  And I find that most newbee patients are a little more relaxed.  But what does acupuncture feel like.

Acupuncture needles are very fine and they rarely feel like a normal injection.  There is a tiny pinch as the needle goes in.  I use a Japanese technique in which I tap the needle in shallowly through a guide tube.  This is simply a sterile plastic tube which is slightly shorter than the needle.  The tube is placed over the acupoint and the needle is tapped in so quickly that the body barely registers the sensation.  I then take the needle slightly deeper onto the acupoint and there is a sensation of ache, heaviness or tingling.  The Chinese call this deqi, or ‘the arrival of qi’; qi being the ‘energy’.

I find that most of my patients are pleasantly surprised by how comfortable and relaxing an acupuncture treatment can be.