When acupuncture goes wrong
You may have seen that skit on SNL where Kristen Wiig and Aidy Bryant inserted acupuncture needles into a patient and blood started squirting everywhere. While it’s great comedy the truth of the matter is that sometimes (very rare) things do go wrong in an acupuncture treatment. Here are the most common situations where things go wrong
NUMBER 1
Although you may feel a slight electric jolt if the needle hits a nerve, the sensation usually fades into bliss. This is where the acupuncture treatment begins to work, somewhere between a theta wave rest and the second star on the right and straight on until morning where Peter Pan and the Lost Boys play.
Direct nerve injuries are rare but could be potentially serious. This is why you go to a licensed acupuncturist and not a doctor with a 2hr adjunct course! Acupuncturist’s have years of experience finding and locating specific points and hundreds of hours, HUNDREDS, of practice before being licensed.
NUMBER 2
Hematoma. A fancy word for a bruise. This happens when a blood vessel is injured during needle insertion or removal. Sometimes this is intentionally done to release blood stagnation. The smaller bruise may be unsightly and slightly tender for a a day or two but often the blood is reabsorbed quickly, and often the pain or discomfort is relieved.Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
NUMBER 3
Needle shock is the most common ‘adverse reaction’ to acupuncture. Although rare (it only occurs 0.02-0.07% of the time PMID: 29279731) it usually happens when the patient is nervous, exhausted, or hasn’t eaten and has low blood sugar. It can also happen if the patient has eaten too much before a treatment. This is known as a Vasovagal response.
Usually the patient will feel clammy, dizzy, and nauseous. It’s important to remove the needles right away and lay the patient down with the legs slightly elevated. A licensed acupuncturist can press D26 (Right below the nose) or S34 (Master Tung point 88.28) to revive the patient.
NUMBER 4
Bent, broken, or stuck needle. Broken needles usually happen with reusable needles, or poor quality. MAKE SURE YOUR ACUPUNCTURIST IS USING NEW NEEDLES FROM A SEALED PACKAGE EACH TIME!
Bent or stuck needles happen with the patient moves during the treatment. Massage the area around the needle to release the muscle or insert a needle at S34 to relax the muscles. (Master Tung ‘Release Point’ 88.28)
NUMBER 5
Organ damage
Pneumothorax, collapsed lung. REMOVE the needle immediately! This is caused by the needle penetrating too deeply over the ribcage which is why there are specific angle and needle depths a licensed acupuncturist is trained to follow.
Other organs that could be punctured are the spleen, liver, Kidney.
Although you should know that the article on PubMed about organ damage from acupuncture needles was from a person swallowing a needle. (PMID: 32610824)
DO NOT SWALLOW ACUPUNCTURE NEEDLES!