How long is the appropriate time to leave the needles in for acupuncture?

If you perform acupuncture regularly, you will know that for different diseases or patients, the acupuncture points and times are different. Some friends have discovered during acupuncture that the time the needles are retained is actually different for different people. So, how long is the appropriate time to leave acupuncture needles in? In fact, this is mainly determined by the patient's disease or physical condition.

Retaining the needle means leaving the needle on the acupuncture point of the human body after the needle has pricked the qi, so as to facilitate needle movement, strengthen the needle sensation and achieve a continuous stimulation effect. It is inappropriate to retain the needles for the same time regardless of the disease being treated. The ability to correctly grasp the retention time of the needles is closely related to the efficacy of the treatment.

How to determine the time to retain the needles based on the symptoms?

1. Cold syndrome and heat syndrome: For cold syndrome, tonifying method should be used and the needle should be left in place for a long time; for heat syndrome, purgative method should be used and the needle should not be left in place. If the needle is left in place, the time should be as short as about 5-10 minutes.

2. Deficiency syndrome and excess syndrome: For deficiency syndrome, tonifying method should be used, and the needle should be left in for a long time; for excess syndrome, draining and pressing or bloodletting method should be used, and the needle should not be left in. If the needle is left in, the time should be short, about 5-10 minutes.

3. Pain syndrome: It is divided into acute and chronic diseases. Acute pain syndrome is suitable for heavy stimulation and short needle retention time; chronic pain syndrome generally uses light stimulation and long needle retention effect is better, such as trigeminal neuralgia, vascular headache, periarthritis of the shoulder, epigastric pain, etc.

4. For both cold syncope and heat syncope, the needle should be retained for a long time. Cold syncope is characterized by a decline in Yang Qi, with cold limbs, cold hands and feet, diarrhea and undigested food. Heat syncope is a syndrome of cold hands and feet caused by stagnation of Yang Qi due to excessive heat. The needle is left in for a long time to dredge the qi and blood and regulate the cold and heat.

5. Chronic, intractable, and spasmodic diseases: The needles need to be left in for a long time, such as facial spasm and tetanus spasm. The needles should be left in for a long time to achieve better therapeutic effects.

For patients with mild illness and short course of disease, the needles should be retained for a short time; for patients with severe illness and long-term treatment, the needles should be retained for a long time. How long is the appropriate time to leave the needles in for acupuncture?