As an acupuncture supporter, I love to share my success stories and encourage my friends and family to give it a try. 

I heard a lot of counter-arguments and this blog is dedicated to debunking myths and busting excuses. Hope you will find it useful to convenience your friends and family to try out this wonderful way of healing. 

Acupuncture needles hurt

I am afraid of needles, so no acupuncture for me. Thanks!

Ah, this is the number one excuse we heard over and over.  

An acupuncture needle is about 0.25 mm and some are even smaller. When people think about needles for injection, the syringe needle is about 2.5 mm. If that does not mean anything, a sewing needle is about 1mm. 

Thus, acupuncture is using a needle finer than a sewing needle. It does not hurt in most cases. 

You might feel a bit of sensation when the needles are inserted but the feeling usually fades away fast. 

Also, if you feel uncomfortable at certain points, communicate with your acupuncturists. They will remove the needles and find other points which are still effective but you don’t feel much pain. 

 

Acupuncture is only for pain relief

I have x symptoms and I don’t know if acupuncture works for that. 

 

This is very common. Since acupuncture is very powerful in pain relief and commonly used in pain management. A lot of people believe that’s the only use for acupuncture. 

The truth is …

Acupuncture can treat almost everything. 

A few common areas you can see acupuncturists treat are fertility, digestive, repository, and even your pets can get acupuncture. 

So don’t limit acupuncture to pain relief. Acupuncture treats almost everything. 

Acupuncturist requires limited training

If you are in the USA, a licensed acupuncturist is required to pass the board exam run by the National Certification Committee For Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine(NCCAOM). 

Before the board exam, most acupuncture school is three years of rigorous training in Asian medicine theory and western medicine theory. 

The students learn more than theory. They need to have hands-on practice in a supervised environment. Many schools have student clinics so the students can get real-world experience. 

Also, if a licensed acupuncturist wishes to keep their certification, they would need to attend continuous training. 

It is not a trivial effort to become and keep being a licensed acupuncturist. 

If you wonder how to find a licensed acupuncturist, please check out this blog. 

There is no scientific proof of acupuncture effectiveness 

If you are the research type, you googled how effective acupuncture is or how acupuncture works. 

You might find some research papers that point out acupuncture is a placebo or fake.

If you like to read tons of research, I will point you to the National Institute of Health to find it out yourself.  

I would simply point out that if a treatment does not work, will it pass on for thousands of years? 

Do you need to know how a generator works to use electricity? No. 

Then, why do you need to know the entire oriental medicine theory and put it under a microscopic exam? 

No legitimate healthcare professionals recommend acupuncture

A lot of insurance policies in the USA cover acupuncture treatments. Also, many licensed acupuncturists accept insurance. Most clinics' websites provide clear information on whether they accept insurance and what you need to do for using insurance coverage. 

So, insurance covers it. 

Also, NFL and NBA players use acupuncture to get better sooner. If treatment can’t help professional athletes get better, would their team doctors point them the way and allow the treatment happens? 

 

It takes very long for acupuncture to be effective

I will say it depends on you for this statement to be true or not. How effective one acupuncture treatment can do to you depends on how acute your situation is and how fast you seek help. 

Also, how often you go to an acupuncture treatment makes a difference too. 

The general rule of thumbs is you will see improvement in 2-3 sessions. 

For more details, please see this blog. 

Any other common excuses you heard and feel like debunking? Send it my way! Let's make more people falling in love with Acupuncture.