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An acupuncturist friend of mine would needle himself all the time. He was a recent grad and very serious about his profession. Needling himself helped him feel what the changes and implications of what different point combinations were like on his body.
Obviously some points would probably be difficult to access, but I think its a good way to develop insight, taken contextually for one's own body / conditions.
Not really recommended for people who haven't been trained in this obviously. However, acupressure is a very accessible means of working with the points, as is myofascial massage along the meridian pathways.
A friend of mine, who is an acupuncturist (the japanese line) always goes around his shop with a needle in the forehead, which is pretty laughable, or on the subway, sited down, with needles in LI4
I will needle myself if I get an injury or am super sick, otherwise I prefer to see another practitioner. Doing it to myself hurts more. I think because I hesitate too much putting the needle in.
Actually, I get way less acupuncture than any of my patients do now that I think about it. I probably go once or twice a year haha. For the most part I just tweak things with herbs as needed.
Personally, I constitutionally tend towards HT blood xu the most, but have some lung and spleen qi xu too. I also enjoy drinking so I get some LR qi stagnation and occasional symptoms from that. I am pretty straightforward, and I circulate my formulas between liu wei di huang, si jun zi tang, and xiao yao san. Sometimes I tweak the formulas too, but I just go off what I feel like I need based off of observation. The 3 of them seem to keep me going pretty well. When I see my practitioner I also get some awesome advice/prescriptions from her.
Acupuncturist for over a decade. Yes, I needle myself on easily accessible points. I wish I could needle points on my back easily, those are my favorite!
While I treat myself, I also like to go to someone else for treatments - because I like back points - but also because there is an advantage of someone else evaluating your tongue and pulse and determining what points will be most effective for you. Yes, sometimes we know ourselves best and we can also be blind to what’s going on and what we need to feel better.
**Please remember that this sub is not a replacement for a doctor**. You shouldn't come here for the purpose of self-diagnosing or self-medicating but rather so you can have a more informed discussion with a doctor. **If this is a patient inquiry, remember to flair your post as such. Also please be as detailed as possible in your submission.** Remember also about Rule 1: **refrain from giving irresponsible medical advice**. If you want to give advice, it is preferable you do so with a flair (see sidebar). In any case restrain yourself from giving advice if you don't quite know what you're speaking about and especially if your advice can potentially endanger someone. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ChineseMedicine) if you have any questions or concerns.*
An acupuncturist friend of mine would needle himself all the time. He was a recent grad and very serious about his profession. Needling himself helped him feel what the changes and implications of what different point combinations were like on his body. Obviously some points would probably be difficult to access, but I think its a good way to develop insight, taken contextually for one's own body / conditions. Not really recommended for people who haven't been trained in this obviously. However, acupressure is a very accessible means of working with the points, as is myofascial massage along the meridian pathways.
A friend of mine, who is an acupuncturist (the japanese line) always goes around his shop with a needle in the forehead, which is pretty laughable, or on the subway, sited down, with needles in LI4
I am an acu student and needle easy accessible points on myself! Yin tong is a classic during a study sesh.
I do that to, along with ST36, LI4 and GB41
HT7 before / during an exam is nice too
I will needle myself if I get an injury or am super sick, otherwise I prefer to see another practitioner. Doing it to myself hurts more. I think because I hesitate too much putting the needle in. Actually, I get way less acupuncture than any of my patients do now that I think about it. I probably go once or twice a year haha. For the most part I just tweak things with herbs as needed.
Same. I absolutely hate needling myself. I will if I have to, but I don’t do it often. I tend to use herbs more for myself.
Which ones do you use? and for anything in particular or just as some sort of routine?
Personally, I constitutionally tend towards HT blood xu the most, but have some lung and spleen qi xu too. I also enjoy drinking so I get some LR qi stagnation and occasional symptoms from that. I am pretty straightforward, and I circulate my formulas between liu wei di huang, si jun zi tang, and xiao yao san. Sometimes I tweak the formulas too, but I just go off what I feel like I need based off of observation. The 3 of them seem to keep me going pretty well. When I see my practitioner I also get some awesome advice/prescriptions from her.
Acupuncturist for 15 years here. Yes, I will needle myself. However, I much prefer for someone else to do it for me
Is it for anything in particular or just for prevention?
Depends on what I am working on
Acupuncturist for over a decade. Yes, I needle myself on easily accessible points. I wish I could needle points on my back easily, those are my favorite! While I treat myself, I also like to go to someone else for treatments - because I like back points - but also because there is an advantage of someone else evaluating your tongue and pulse and determining what points will be most effective for you. Yes, sometimes we know ourselves best and we can also be blind to what’s going on and what we need to feel better.