Acupuncture and acupressure are both a part of the traditional Chinese medicines, that is, both these treatment kinds flow from same roots. The debate about acupuncture vs. acupressure stems from the fact that both the practices are based on same beliefs.
The belief that a disease or a symptom that occurs in the human body is due to the blockage of the flow of energy through the body. Now, to make things all right again this flow is to be restored. Therefore, what these practices aim at is restoring the energy flow by using techniques on the acupoints.
The acupoints are the points which effect the flow of energy i.e. qi through the body. Now there are many similarities between acupuncture and acupressure but there are certain points of difference as well.
To begin with, acupuncture involves use of a very thin needle to puncture the skin at the acupoints to revive the flow of energy. However, in acupressure the technique is to apply pressure on the acupoints through message or with the help of a tool.
The debate in a bid to figure out which of the two practices in better, has continued since ages. There are pros and cons to both these techniques. In hope of shedding some light on the debate lets discuss a few of these pros and cons:
- Acupuncture involves the use of hair like thin needles on the acupoints of the affected region. It may thus become difficult to use this technique on those who are afraid of needles. In such situation, the use of acupressure is more suitable. It is better to use message or a pressure tool to create pressure on the acupoint to grant relief to the patient.
- It has been recorded by many that acupuncture provides quicker relief than is provided by acupressure. The puncturing of the acupoint results in almost immediate effect, while the messaging of the point may take time to produce effective results.
- There are other incidences which report that while acupuncture may be preferred over acupressure for certain conditions, there are also some conditions/ symptoms for which the use of acupressure is preferred over the use of acupuncture.
- Acupuncture is newer than the technique of acupressure.
- Acupuncture requires the respective healer to have direct access to bare skin while acupressure technique is possible to be implemented even if an individual is wearing some comfortable and loose clothes.
Since both the healing techniques use almost similar methods the choice between which medium is preferred almost always comes down to personal choices. For example, many people cannot bear the thought of being covered in needles and hence have to be treated with the use of acupressure instead of acupuncture.
For those who are searching for an alternative treatment method can certainly opt for either of these two methods. The use of these techniques helps women in most of their specific problems. They can also use these techniques to overcome the common issues such as morning sickness during pregnancy. The techniques also have particular benefits for men as well.
