I’ve heard this so often that if I got a dollar for every time I’d be writing this on a beach in Hawaii…oh wait, I AM writing this on a beach in Hawaii. Well, you get the point…it’s something every acupunturist hears and since I just heard it again this morning, I thought I’d say a few things about it.

Acupuncture needles are pre-sterilized, disposible, single use, made of solid core stainless steel. When people say they’re scared of needles what they really mean is they hate to get shots, or get their blood drawn. And hell, I don’t blame you I don’t like those either. A syringe is thick, hollow (so the stuff can get in or out) with a razor sharp,

beveled edge designed to puncture the skin. That’s why they put a bandade on afterwards.

But acupuncture needles aren’t syringes. When the Chinese first started using acupuncture about 3,000 years ago, they used thinly ground sto

ne needles. The knitting needle size instruments look like logs compared to what I use 3 millenium later. An acupuncture needle is specifically designed to separate the cells of the skin, not to cut the skin. They move the cells aside and slip in through the epidermal layers, they don’t puncture them. So 90% of the time the client doesn’t even feel them inserted….HONEST. And if there is any blood on removal, it’s only because a small capillary or arteriol was been nicked and I just wipe the tiny drop away and that’s the end of it.

What one normally does feel, and what I always look for, is a dull, heavy, achy feeling that means the needle is actually connecting with the chi. That’s a feeling you want.

Acupuncture can be so incredibly helpful in rel

ieving all kinds of pain from headaches to joint or muscle pain. There’s a branch that deals primarily with pain management type issues, which is how I use acupuncture, and a branch that deals with internal medicine or illnesses, and I can refer you if you need a “zang fu” practioner.

I’m sure people would like to hear the comments of others experience with acupuncture. There really is nothing to be scared of and everything

to gain. Give me a call if you’d like to know more…808-386-6763 or drop me a line at george@flawlesspmhawaii.com.

You can also check out http://www.medicalacupuncture.org/acu_info/articles/aboutacupuncture.html which talks about medical acupuncture,

George.