I was treating a patient the other day and she said "This may sound strange but the pain in my arm feels angry". It didn't sound strange to me. I started to think of a treatment I wouldn't normally have done to help her arm based on this comment. After this patient got up, she said she felt great.

Patients frequently think the images that come to their mind in relation to their symptoms sounds strange and no one will understand. Acupuncture is based on a paradigm of images and symbols that are much more closely related to the subconscious than the images of Western Medicine. Often the images that patients use to colorfully describe their symptoms can speak volumes to an acupuncturist.

I love it when my patients use a vivid description, perhaps humanizing their symptom or saying it feels like “red” or “blue”. This can tell me a lot. Often they feel silly, but I then get images or hits that can completely revamp a treatment and make a good treatment, excellent.

Patients also have a tendency to try and gloss over symptoms that are typical side effects of a medication they are taking. I hate it when they do that. Whatever symptoms a patient is having at the time they see me are the symptoms I need to know about. I will take into account that it is a side effect of medication, but not everyone gets every side effect. It’s important to know what side effects each patient is prone to. It’s also important for me to hear how bothersome (or not) these side effects are. It tells me a lot about the patient’s overall constitution.

While I am not a fan of causing pain and thus find the terribly needle sensitive patients somewhat trying, I prefer them to what I call the “macho” patient. This is typically a male patient of a certain age. If a patient has pain, sometimes I’ll work a needle in the point until the patient gets a strong sensation. These men refuse to ever feel something strongly. Often I can tell by the tensing of the muscles in the area that they are having a strong sensation but others cover it. I’ve found that although I want a good strong sensation, I need to rely on my fingers, because as far as they’re concerned there is no sensation too strong. They can take it.

Sometimes, during a treatment a patient will get a sensation in an apparently unrelated part of their body. I love it when patients tell me about this. Sometimes it’s useful to the treatment. Sometimes an ache in an area just feels like it needs something. I may not have planned to needle that point, but it’s easy to add. I think that makes a more effective treatment because I’m able to listen more thoroughly to what the body is asking for.

Patients should never feel uncomfortable or silly or less than strong to mention something to their acupuncturist. It’s often the subtle body signs and strange images that can bring the whole treatment into focus. The more information a practitioner has, the better they’ll be able to focus the treatment and the sooner the patient starts seeing results.

Bonnie Koenig, LAc is a licensed acupuncturist. She maintains http://www.quantumlifestyles.com for general acupuncture information

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