All about Acupuncture Needles

Acupuncture is a traditional medical technique which involves inserting as well as needles manipulating acupuncture into a body part to assist in relieving pain or providing therapy. There are various kinds of acupuncture needles. All About Acupuncture Needles is discussed below.

The needles range from stainless steel, small, thin, and the longer ones that are made of gold and silver. Acupuncture still has remained a largely controversial and misunderstood form of medicine.

young woman getting acupuncture treatment

Acupuncture needles are penetrating the skin, and therefore hygiene is the main concern. Many acupuncturists will use pre-sterilized needle packs for single-use, they will be packaged in blister packs that are backed with the foil, and are guiding tubes on one end in order to avoid any injury while using them.

The needles we use these days are packed in sterilized blisters and are disposable, which means that they should be thrown away after one use. Where can you find needles? In congresses, seminars, big classes of acupuncture. You can also surf the web and find the names and addresses of many companies who sell them and will send them to you through the post.

The shaft is always made of stainless steel and often covered with a layer of silicone so that they slide without difficulty when inserted in the skin and flesh. The hardness, solidity, and flexibility of the shaft or body of the needle must be balanced, so as not to break and not to bend too easily.

tradiional chinese medicine and acupuncture

But it is on the tip that the manufacturers have concentrated all their efforts: depending on its shape and sharpness it must glide into the skin effortlessly, and inflict as little pain as possible if none at all. So there are many kinds of needles, and the manufacturers come from China, Japan, Korea, Germany, and I suppose other countries (I do not pretend to be an encyclopedia).

You will speculate to the material’s nature used at the start for making an acupuncture needle. Bronze, Bamboo, jade, copper, silver gold, other kinds of metals.

Acupuncture needles come in a variety of lengths and diameters, based on their purpose, and on which part of the body they are to be employed. In ancient Chinese practice, there were as many nine types of needles. In modern acupuncture, the most common type of needle can be the thread-like or metal fusiform, the acupuncture needles are made of gold or silver.

Besides fusiform acupuncture needles, there exist specialized needles types for certain uses. The first is the three-edged needle. This is a thick, and round-handled needle together with the triangular shaft. It is looking like a lance with a sharp tip it is used to bloodletting. This is the process for allowing blood flow from your body in a controlled way in order to treat diseases such as polycythemia and hemochromatosis.


If you want to know all about acupuncture needles, the intradermal needles are thin, short needles which are used often in the treatment of addiction and chronic pain. Press needles usually are small needles which are pressed in the body and are held using a small surgical patch which is sterilized.