Severe pain flashes around shoulders/back/arm after acupuncture [done by physiotherapist]

Comment by Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.

First off, this is reason #1 that you don&#39t get acupuncture from non-acupuncturists. Many pt&#39s, physio&#39s, chiro&#39s, md&#39s are all moving onto this dry needling/neuromuscular needling bandwagon without proper training in the fundamentals of acupuncture. What are they are doing is -not- acupuncture and they are generally -not- trained in Chinese Medicine - (they often have minimal training in needle insertion and in basic dry needling techniques).

Properly done by a fully trained and licensed acupuncturist - acupuncture has an extremely low possibility of ever hurting someone and has a tremendous track record of significantly helping any type of pain related case.

That said, I&#39m sorry this has happened to you - it shouldn&#39t be allowed to happen legally. As for what happens with this type of non-acupuncture needling techniques it is more likely to cause nerve and tissue damage. Now this will likely heal (see my many other replies to similar questions on the forums - search "pain after acupuncture") - it just takes some time. Going for further tests will be a waste of time and money as there is little than can be done on the western spectrum.

Perhaps counterintuitively, however, seeing a fully trained and licensed acupuncturist can be extremely helpful in these cases to undo the damage that has been done. Ideally one who also practices cupping (most do) and tuina (some do) - which are other important parts of Chinese Medicine as a whole.

You will be fine, but tissue damage of this nature (on it&#39s own) can take 6-15 weeks to heal. With true acupuncture and associated Chinese Medicine techniques this can be significantly shortened in most cases.

Comment by Archived User

Thanks Chad, I&#39ve read your other comments and am grateful for the advice since my GP wasn&#39t sure what to do and sometimes the patient has to ask for tests.

So if anyone reading this is considering letting a PT insert needles, DON&#39T DO IT. This is a really bad stinging, burning pain shooting around my body like fireworks! Cost me my desk job because I can&#39t just take several weeks off (no sick leave in my province).

I wouldn&#39t go to a PT I don&#39t trust so I agreed without knowing what credentials to ask about, and the first treatment was asymptomatic and side effects are rare - for true acupuncture as you said. Now I feel like I was duped. The PT said he didn&#39t study TCM, but I&#39d heard that some western practitioners practice it outside the context of TCM so I didn&#39t know it was a red flag.