Does the acupuncturist use thin needles?

Generally speaking, using thick needles means that the acupuncturist is not able to use the right amount of force for acupuncture. The thicker the needles, the easier they can penetrate the skin. The thicker the needles, the stronger the stimulation, and therefore the more painful it tends to be.

As a rule of thumb, if the needles have a diameter of 0.18 mm or less, it is better. You can ask the receptionist or call the clinic before you get treatment. What is the diameter of the needles you are using there? If they cannot give you a definite number, ask them to tell you, I would not recommend that clinic.

Do they give you unnecessarily many needles? Or use only an extremely small number of needles for treatment?

It proves that they don't know which meridians and which acupuncture points need to be treated. It proves that they are ignorant and incompetent, thinking that if they hit a few needles, they will hit any one of them. It is not that the patient has benefited from having many acupuncture needles. For example, if a patient is cured because he/she received 100 needles, it means that any acupuncturist can cure any patient with the same disease by giving 100 needles to the patient. Is that possible? It is impossible! In fact, since many needles are given, it is possible that acupuncture needles may be inserted into acupuncture points that are necessary for the treatment. As a result, symptoms may improve to some extent immediately after the treatment. However, due to the needles being inserted into acupuncture points that are not necessary for the treatment, it is more likely that the symptoms will return to their original state or get worse in a short period of time. In addition, what if the acupuncturist's needles are painful? This is torture!

On the other hand, there are acupuncture clinics that proudly claim that a certain number of needles (about 6 to 8 needles) in certain acupuncture points on the back can cure any disease. There are such clinics here in Nagoya, too.

My deceased mother went there, and she was fine for a while, but after that, she got worse all at once. I received the same treatment several times, but the acupuncture treatments were painful and I didn't feel any effect. Therefore, I have had such painful needles myself, I made an effort to give them without causing pain to others.

There is no truth in medical care and treatment if too many needles are given, or if only a certain number of needles are given to cure a patient.

Unnecessary stimulation with too many needles or not enough needles to heal may worsen symptoms.

A real acupuncturist can treat a patient's disease with the minimum amount of needles that the patient's body needs.

Do not insert needles unnecessarily deep?

Although it is necessary to target deep muscles from time to time, it is irrelevant to insert needles deeply anyway without considering the situation of the affected area,

• What organs are in the area?
• What kind of situation the affected area is in right now?

This proves that acupuncturist has not studied anatomy and physiology properly. Even in the 21st century, there has been the death of patients at acupuncture and moxibustion clinics in Osaka. In this case, too, a disciple without national certification was allowed to administer acupuncture, and the director burned the medical records of the deceased patient. Such an antiquated master-disciple system still prevails in Japan. As a result, it is the patients who suffer the consequences.

It also disparages the fundamentals of Oriental medicine, especially since qi covers, protects, and flows over the surface of the body. Acupuncture treatment is "Qi medicine." Where does the acupuncturist find the qi flowing? Therefore, can it be called acupuncture treatment to give acupuncture needles deeply to any patient or any disease because they do not understand the “Qi”?

They only say words that are pleasant to the ear.

Because they do not have the skill, knowledge, or enthusiasm to help the patient heal, they continue to say only what is comfortable for the patient's ears. The true medical practitioner's duty is to say things that are painful to the patient's ears in order to help him or her heal.

If you believe only in the superficial and flimsy aspects of what is comfortable to your ears, which mask the truth and state the exact opposite of the truth, then go ahead, because this is exactly what COVID-19 from 2020 will reveal about the true nature of the Japanese people today. The Japanese government, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, and those on TV who claim to be doctors and experts, have all stated endlessly, and whether they are true or not?

Those who do not think for themselves and unconditionally accept what they are told on TV and in the newspapers must harvest the results of their actions. When will this helpless majority of Japanese people, who refuse to think for themselves, wake up?

Do they have a good understanding of what they can and cannot do?

The more those who only think about making money, the more they say without hesitation, “You will be cured if you keep going to the clinic.”

The more acupuncturists who are not properly aware of their own treatment skills and knowledge, the longer the patient's recovery will take. In order to be able to recognize this, it is essential to make a daily effort: how seriously did you study when you were a student, how much did you continue to study every day after getting your license, and how much do you continue to renew your own knowledge?

If you have a real awareness of your treatment skills and knowledge, you can determine at the initial consultation whether it is better to send the patient to another specialist, and you can talk to the patient about it and ask them to go that way. Even if you don't know at the initial examination, during the course of treatment you can decide that your treatment will not help the patient recover, and at that point, you must send the patient to another specialist. Can you do that? Are you constantly looking at yourself sincerely and objectively? That is what I mean. Because those are the things that will help the patient.

My own experience was at an acupuncture and moxibustion clinic where I worked for a short period of time. An elderly woman came to me with a left ankle injury. When I met her at the clinic, she had already been there for over a month and a half. She said, "It hurts, but I can finally go up and down the stairs.” But her left ankle, there was still clear internal bleeding. By all means, this was a fracture of the ankle, and rather than acupuncture or bone graft treatment, it was necessary to have her go to an orthopedic surgeon for diagnosis and immobilization first. However, this patient believed the words of the rotten director of the acupuncture and moxibustion clinic, "If you keep coming to the clinic, you will get well.” It is too late for her to go to the orthopedist now. There are too many sad cases like this. The main reason for this is that the director of this acupuncture and moxibustion clinic is a money-maker and cannot make a real diagnosis. Do you want to be treated by such a ridiculous person?

They say that the number of other patient appointments is so high that you have to make another appointment to get treatment.

That is not likely to happen. If a patient's preferred date and time are not available, they should be able to offer another date and time. First of all, acupuncture clinics that have such a line of patients do not exist today. If you think about it calmly for a moment, you can easily understand this. However, the fact is that many people are easily deceived.

Do acupuncturists have knowledge about the disease?

If therapists have knowledge, they should be able to explain the disease to the patient. If they have no knowledge of the disease, a true healer should be able to say, "I don't know, please teach me about it.

If possible, it is best if the healer has experienced the disease him/herself. There is no better experience as a healer.

Can acupuncturists explain the disease in terms of Oriental medicine?

Not only Western medical knowledge but also what is the condition of the disease from an Oriental medical viewpoint? If acupuncturists cannot give you an explanation from an Oriental medicine perspective, such as what the condition is and how to treat it, then it is safe to assume that therapists do not understand Oriental medicine at all.

Can acupuncturists give you several suggestions for your daily regimen?

If acupuncturists know which meridians and acupoints need to be treated, they can give the patient the necessary lifestyle advice. If therapists cannot give you that advice, he/she does not even understand what oriental medicine is at all.

It is meaningless to have a large number of staff and stores.

A healer's humanity and skill are not "in direct proportion" to the number of disciples or the number of stores! It is a complete misconception to think that because there are a large number of disciples or a large number of stores, they must be good at what they do. The fact that there are many stores simply means that they are good at "management" and has nothing to do with treatment techniques.

Ask a question and you get a real answer or not.

I write an example of the director of the aforementioned acupuncture and moxibustion clinic where I used to be. I can't say anything in dismay when I remember it now. This director was asked by a patient

"Why do you put acupuncture needles there?”

He replied as

"I wonder why.”

A person who cannot properly answer a patient's question like this is not a medical practitioner. This director read a book of acupuncture points under the receptionist's desk (a place not visible to patients) just before starting the treatment, and then simply applied acupuncture needles to the points indicated in the book. He was not at all capable of selecting acupuncture points based on the patient's condition, which is what an Oriental medical practitioner is supposed to do. That is why the above answer is given.

An example of my experience with a Western doctor is the case of an orthopedic surgeon's office that I went to for my own right external ankle condyle fracture and avulsion fracture of the ligament in that area (right talofibular ligament).

When the cast was removed, the question I asked him was.

“How is the avulsion fracture?”

to which this director did not answer anything, just laughed. 2 times I repeated the question, but he did not answer anything, just laughed. Now, how is this director a medical professional?

If he/she doesn’t understand,

“I’m sorry, I don't know.”

and just answer sincerely. Or,

“I’m sorry, I forgot to take the X-Ray, so can I take another one, even though it will cost more? I would like to check the avulsion fracture area.”

It is outrageous for a medical practitioner to laugh and cheat! However, there are many Western doctors and acupuncturists like this.

Anyway, please ask any questions you have. It doesn't matter what it is. Even if it is not related to the treatment.

In the case of Oriental medicine, you can ask questions such as

“What is qi?” “What are acupuncture points?”

It doesn't matter. Whether or not acupuncturists can answer sincerely is a very important factor in determining whether or not they can do the job. Do you think the treatment is real if the therapist cannot give a real answer to the patient's question, if the therapist is vague, or if the therapist makes fun of the patient for not knowing such a thing? The simpler the question, the more real and convincing the answer is.

Please look at pictures at treatment tools corner. Needle is disposable, and made by stainless steel. It is sterilized by ethylene oxide gas and made in Japan. Mainly I use 0.16 mm diameter needle. If you are very sensitive, I will use finer needle. Even though it is hairline needle, if you feel fear about it, I will use so called "Tei-shin needle" which doesn't penetrate your skin, but just touched.

That depends on patient's symptom. If you have severe symptom, maybe twice in a week would be better. Most of cases, start treatment once in a week, then when you get better, increase the treatment interval.

Sorry, I do not use health insurance for my treatment, because in Japan, insurance for acupuncture is available only for 6 types of diseases. Therefore, I do not use it. 

Acupuncture treatment could cover more wide type of diseases than you would imagine. In addition, without using insurance, it would make therapist whether he/she treats patient the same amount of payment or not.

If your insurance company accepts acupuncture treatment, I will give you a receipt, which you can use it for applying. Please contact to your insurance company, first. I will follow what insurance company says.

I have already written in the “Therapeutic Touch” and “Treatment Policy” section, it is because of therapeutic touch. This technique is not only I but also EVERYONE has the same ability. The difference is only you have trained to use it or not. (Some people could feel Qi energy without any training. I think most of children could feel Qi power.)

Acupuncture needle is totally different from syringe needle. Syringe needle is designed for cutting skin tissue, but acupuncture needle is not. Our needle is pushing aside the skin tissue; therefore, there is no hole behind. You can take a bath without any anxiety.

Unlike 20 years ago, from the beauty point, many acupuncturist pay great attention for burning. In my treatment, I use Chinese herbal medicine "Shi-Un-Kou" (you can see picture of it in a “Pictures” page: red-purple color paste) to prevent burning.

For feeling of cold, moxibustion makes very good effect. After continuous treatment, patients say they do not feel any coldness.

Also, moxibustion is very nice treatment for tendovaginitis (inflammation of the tendon sheath). I treated it by myself and I know its effects, so I am strongly recommend it to you.

To make treatment according to the patient's symptoms is the essential point of oriental medicine. It is not good to use needles for every symptom. If patient's body core is cold then proceeds needles, it makes patient colder and colder. Oppositely, when injury part has heat then use moxibustion, it gives more heat to injury part and produces more pain to patient.

True acupuncturist is who can make correct choice, which acupuncture point is for either needle or moxibustion, and he/she proceeds appropriate stimulation to patient. (Many of Japanese acupuncturists, they don't know it, so many of them proceed unnecessary stimulation or just doing massage.)

It depends upon every patient's symptoms. It took months or years to become current physical conditions. Then, do you really think only one time treatment could cure it? Acupuncture treatment is not magic. It brings back your vital energy to original condition with none or minimum bad effect to your body; therefore, it takes time. Basically, it may need the same period of time you had been suffering, until you would become better. However, acupuncture treatment could help your recovering speed much faster.

Acupuncture treatment can make diagnose entire body; therefore, it covers not only locomotive disorders but also visceral organ trouble. In my case, I treat more numbers of patients with organ disorders rather than orthopedic one. 

Well, if you strongly believe western medicine or western science, you tend to think so. Often I have heard is capillaries are surrounding the entire body, so if I insert a needle, it is natural that blood comes out. If it is true, BLOOD WILL COME OUT EVERY SINGLE NEEDLE POINTS, doesn't it? In fact, it is not and in many cases, blood doesn't come out from needle points. It means, needles don't penetrate capillaries, but blood stasis was accumulated when it came out. This theory is much more logical, isn't it? If you still don't understand, you should take acupuncture treatment.