Acupuncture Society of Virginia - ASVA - is a professional membership organization of licensed Acupuncturists who practice in Virginia

Acupuncture as an Adjunct Therapy,
by Sharon Crowell, R.N., M.Ac., L.Ac.

The primary goal of acupuncture is the restoration of balance in body, mind, and spirit. While acupuncture is a powerful method of health care in and of itself, it can also be very helpful when combined with other types of treatment. When progress with massage therapy, chiropractic care, or psychological/psychiatric counseling does not progress as rapidly or is not as effective as the practitioner and client would like, a short series of acupuncture treatments may be just what is needed to assist things in moving forward.

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Acupuncture and Massage Therapy. Massage therapy works with the soft tissues of the body, relaxing and releasing patterns of contraction in the fascia and muscles. While it takes time to train the body to change its habitual patterns of soft tissue tension, a not-uncommon comment about massage therapy is “I feel great for a day or two after the session, then the pain returns.”

Acupuncture can help to address this situation in a number of ways. Acupuncture needles can penetrate “trigger points,” stubborn spots of pain and tension, very deeply and specifically. The release of a trigger point or two is often all that is needed to allow the massage therapist to then sink into the soft tissue more easily and generate a more profound, longer-lasting effect from the massage.

An acupuncturist may also be able to determine if resistance to the therapeutic benefit of massage is due to an underlying imbalance in one or more acupuncture meridians, the circuits of energy that flow throughout the body. Just as a twisted or leaky garden hose is incapable of delivering a steady stream of water, when the meridians become blocked or deficient, energy cannot flow smoothly. As a result, the soft tissue may be unable to maintain its relaxed state until the underlying energy supply is restored.

Finally, a pattern of tension that seems resistant to massage may be due to an underlying physical or mental trauma that the client is not be aware of. Acupuncture can act in a very subtle manner to release the physical impact of past events, thus clearing the way for the massage therapist to work with soft tissue that is now more amenable to change.

Acupuncture and Chiropractic Care. The inability of a chiropractic adjustment to “hold” may be due to any of the three conditions described above. Addressing trigger points, meridian blocks, and energetic traumas through acupuncture may free the body to respond more strongly to chiropractic treatment.

Acupuncture and Counseling. Acupuncturists are not trained as psychological or psychiatric counselors, nor should acupuncture care be substituted for therapy. However, acupuncture can provide a wonderful support to this type of healing work. Acupuncture treatment can help when the therapeutic process seems “stuck, and can also assist clients in integrating their therapy.

Just as the massage therapist or chiropractor can encounter underlying blocks that prevent treatment from being as effective as it could be, clients and counselors sometimes report that they reach places where the therapeutic process seems unable to progress. As mentioned earlier, the effects of a physical or emotional trauma can often be held in the body, either physically or energetically. The use of acupuncture to gently release these effects and restore the body, mind, and spirit to balance can clear the way for counseling to once again move forward.

When counseling is going well, clients may report feeling somewhat overwhelmed with insight and emotion. By gently calming underlying energies that may become agitated or blocked as a result of the therapeutic process, acupuncture treatment can assist clients to remain relaxed and open to these new thoughts and feelings. Acupuncture treatment also offers a safe and quiet environment in which the client can contemplate and absorb the impact of counseling and allow for its integration.

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Acupuncture can thus complement and enhance the effects of massage, chiropractic, and therapeutic counseling. Contact any of the acupuncturists listed on the ASVA website for more information on how we can synergistically work with your current health care providers.

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