What is electro-acupuncture?

Electro-acupuncture is similar to traditional acupuncture, but it utilizes electric stimulation to increase circulation and blood flow even more. Acupuncture expert Daniel Hsu, DAOM, discusses how the treatment works and how it is performed.

Transcript

00:00

Once the electroacupuncture begins and the electricity starts to flow, you'll feel tingling. You'll feel a little heat.

00:06

You'll feel a little of something you can't explain. But typically, it's not pain. [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:17

Electroacupuncture is acupuncture using electric stimulation. Now, there are many different companies

00:23

that make these units. They're typically battery-powered units. They're very, very similar to the [INAUDIBLE] machines

00:30

that the physical therapists would use to kind of put electrodes on the surface of the skin to kind of stimulate the muscles and stimulate the blood flow.

00:38

But with electroacupuncture, we're doing, instead of transcutaneous, we're doing percutaneous. So we're actually sticking the needles deep inside the body,

00:46

into the skin layer, into the muscle layer, and even in between joints in order to stimulate growth of tissues, in order

00:54

to stimulate healing and increase blood flow, and also increase endorphin flow. So when you hook up the little electrodes onto the electric parts of the needles

01:02

and you know the right intensity and the right amount of electricity to put on and the right amount of time to use,

01:09

you can actually make the treatment so much stronger. Typically, you'd come to an acupuncturist for back pain because it hurts.

01:16

Now the only pain that you really should be feeling with acupuncture or even electroacupuncture is possibly the initial stick of the little needle going inside the skin.

01:24

Once it's inside the skin, you really shouldn't feel a whole lot of pain at all. And once the electroacupuncture begins and the electricity starts to flow, you'll feel tingling.

01:34

You'll feel a little heat. You'll feel a little of something you can't explain, but typically it's not pain. And all those things, traditionally, they

01:41

would call it qi. But nowadays, we know that qi is a metaphor for metabolic function. So it's your body reacting by trying

01:48

to help to block the pain, to loosen the muscle, to increase blood flow, and to help you heal in general. [AUDIO LOGO]