Ask An Acupuncturist. – Do You Do Acupuncture On Yourself?
Question
As an acupuncturist, do you do acupuncture on yourself?
Answer
This is a good question and I am a bit surprised that I don’t get asked it more often. The answer is yes, I do do acupuncture on myself when I really need it. For me, it is always preferable to have an acupuncture treatment performed by another acupuncturist (this is a more relaxing experience), but I certainly do points on myself when I can’t get to see an acupuncturist myself.
I used to always travel with needles, but after a few incidents at airports, I am a bit leary of carrying needles with me on airplanes (the TSA is so sassy!), but I usually have a little acupuncture medicine kit with me with needles, herbs and other things like herbal burn cream, ear seeds and moxa for anything that might come up.
I do acupuncture on myself mainly when I have a headache, cramps, digestive issues or a cold or flu. Sometimes it is a bit tricky to get needles in, and because you are doing the work, it isn’t the most relaxing experience, but it gets the job done and for me, is always preferable to taking a pill.
There are also theories that propose that when you work on yourself that you are interrupting your own energy, so that any theraputic effects are diminished. I can understand this, as when I do points on myself I am concentrating, and never entirely relax, whereas when you are being treated by someone else, their energy is going to treating you in its entirety, and you are able to take in the treatment completely which is your focus, and you are able to relax.
There are certain things that I cannot easily treat myself like points on the back and neck, but anything else, at least that I can reach I can treat myself. I would always go and have a proper treatment from an acupuncturist if I had the choice, but it is really nice to have the option to treat myself if I need to. :)
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You are most welcome! :)
Hello.
My dr said my muscles around my eyes are tense and need to relax. He suggested accupuncture. Can i buy the needles and put them in my sinus area on my own? Is there a good book that shows you where to put them?
Thanks so much
Hi Toni,
This is a good question. I would always say that you should never do acupuncture on yourself unless you are a trained, licensed acupuncturist, but there are a lot of other things that you can do on your own like acupressure (acupuncture without the needles) and massage. What I would suggest is to find an acupuncturist and do an initial consultation where they will figure out what imbalances you are suffering from and be able to guide you in terms of things you can do to help yourself, like what foods to eat, exercises, meditation and what acupressure points you can do on yourself. This is one of the wonderful things about acupuncture and Chinese medicine, is that the participation of the patient and educating them on how to change things in their lives in order to be more balanced is what it is all about. :)
Hello! I just spent a few weeks in China with my college studying TCM intensively, particularly acupuncture and the theories of yin/yang and the five elements. We did acupuncture on ourselves and on others with the instructor’s supervision. However, I would like to be able to continue to do some acupuncture for people like myself or my mom now that I am back in the states. Would you say that it is safe for me to use acupuncture ONLY on the points on the arms/hands and legs/feet, since I am not licensed? Particularly, I am most interested in ST34 and LI10/11. Those sorts of points (not necessarily so much points like HT7, as there are nerves closeby to worry about). I don’t want to hurt anyone or make anyone feel uncomfortable, but I also want to use some of what I have learned, so that’s why I think it would be okay to do the more basic points. Nothing on the abdomen, shoulders, head, neck…all that stuff, as I understand the dangers of puncturing incorrectly or too deep. What do you think?
I meant ST36, not ST34, sorry. Just wanted to clarify. I have never punctured ST34.
Hello Carrie,
What a wonderful experience to have gone to China to study TCM! I remember many, many classes where as a student, my classmates and I would practice acupuncture points on ourselves, and then on each other. You develop a very special trust in that scenario! Of course, legally, you can’t perform acupuncture without being licensed, but I would say that doing points on yourself (I still do this regularly) or on a parent (with their consent) is ok as long as you really know the anatomy, nerves, vasculature, etc., needle depth and angle. Always best to try things out in student clinic with a supervisor there to help you first. With anything, it takes a lot of practice to get comfortable, you don’t want to rush it. :)
Hi,
I have gone through an acupuncture treatment with needles for a month and now a I have stopped going for the treatment I am thinking to do it myself. I know the points on my finger where the doctor used to insert the needle. What do you think can I do it by myself?
Hello Lyra,
I would never recommend doing acupuncture on yourself unless you are a licensed acupuncturist (I do acupuncture on myself), but I would recommend asking your acupuncturist for some other things, like pressure points without needles) that you could do yourself. There is so much anatomy, vessels, nerves that you have to be so careful of, not to mention the use of acupuncture needles in general that I could never recommend doing the needling yourself. There are, however, many other things you CAN do like pressure points, massage and moxa that can be very helpful.