(283) Needle Depth & Treatment Area

[HB KIM]

BASIC INDICATIONS OF SHALLOW/DEEP INSERTION
1. Shallow Insertion: Acute / Heat / Itching / Pain relieved by pressure / Weak pulse / Summer / Superficial level (skin, muscle, meridian, qi) / Yang Part (head, neck, chest and upper part) / Delicate patient (use shallow, shorter, fewer, thinner needles)

2. Deep Insertion: Chronic / Cold / Pain / Pain aggravated by pressure / Excess pulse / Winter / Deep level (tendons, bones, internal organs, blood) / Yin Part (abdomen, lumbosacral area, hips, extremities) / Strong patient (use deep, longer, more, thicker needles)



NEEDLE DEPTH & TREATMENT AREA
Sometimes, even when the practitioner has chosen the right point and location, a treatment may not work due to an incorrect needle depth.  A saying in TCM that demonstrates this principle is that "The Secret of an herbal formula is the dosage, while the secret of an acupuncture treatment is the depth."  Superficial needling will treat the local area, while needling to a middle depth will the send the treatment effect further away. Needling deepest will send the treatment effect the farthest. These depths are also referred to as heaven, human, and earth in TCM.

Example 1: ST36
When using ST36, if you needle superficially (heaven), you will be treating the local area and leg pain. If you needle a little deeper (human), you can treat the middle Jiao and digestive problems. If you needle to the deep level (earth), you can treat respiratory and heart issues. Finally, if you needle further, at more than 2 cun, you can treat Bell's Palsy and the face. 

Example 2: LING GU
If you want to treat Ling Gu to affect a problem with sciatica, then needle the point deeper than if you were trying to affect a problem in the upper Jiao.

Example 3: SI3
If you want to treat SI3 for vertex headache or back pain, needle deeper for the back pain and more superficially for the head issues.