I’ve been seeing an acupuncturist who uses body points for 7 visits and have gotten 75% relief from cervical and mid to lower back pain. I have Interstitial Cystitis (x30 years) and I am interested in finding out if electroaccupuncture would be a more aggressive/advanced form of acupuncture for Interstitial Cystitis?
Comment by Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.
Whether or not an acupuncturist uses electroacupuncture is simply up to their clinical training and their treatment preferences (both for themselves and for each individual patient). It sounds like you are doing well in a very short period of time, so while the idea of some type of “aggressive” treatment fits with our western mindset - that rarely fits with the Chinese Medicine approaches, or true healing of conditions.
There are no studies of any note that show extremely strong differences between regular body acupuncture and electroacupuncture, even though electro is commonly used. What matters far more is point selection, point location, and the overall tailoring of the treatment to the individual based on their personal health circumstances and issues.
So the short answer is no, electroacupuncture would not only not be more aggressive just by nature of the technique itself, in many cases it could be argued to be counterproductive.