You may have seen these devices sold on sites like Amazon, Wish, and other platforms online. They’re acupuncture laser pens which claim to provide the benefits of acupuncture however don’t use a needle, instead employing a laser to product the same effect.
How effective is an
acupuncture laser pen – well, the answer’s interesting. Lasers have been employed as an alternative to acupuncture needles since the early 1990s at least. That said, researchers haven’t really studied laser acupuncture and even the practice of acupuncture’s been notoriously understudied.
Research published in the
Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies finally takes a look at clinical effectiveness of laser acupuncture. Evaluating an accumulation of 18 academic studies, researchers found that there was evidence supporting laser acupuncture as a treatment for chronic tension headaches, myofascial pain, and post-operative nausea and vomiting. Other conditions, we can maybe debate on the benefits of laser acupuncture however for these, it appears there is scientific support for using laser acupuncture.
Is laser acupuncture more effective than
acupuncture needles – likely not. Whether it’s a low-intensity laser therapy or a needle, ultimately, you’re looking to penetrate the same area of the body. For this reason, a laser is not going to supersede needles in effectiveness. A laser may be just as effective as needles however this has not been thoroughly studied and many argue acupuncture needles are the preferred option. Needles have been used to successfully treat a wide range of musculoskeletal and soft tissue injuries, to relax, for stress relief, and to remedy a wide variety of mental health and physical health conditions.
If you’re uncomfortable with needles, an acupuncture laser pen might be the way to go for you. That said, you still need to know where to put it, how to use it, and precisely what to do. Acupuncture in general comes with few risks. Even so, laser is believed to be safer than needles, particularly if you’re looking for points that are auricular or near the genitals. Although
Western acupuncture rarely targets these areas, to treat things like smoking addiction or sexual dysfunction, some Chinese practitioners have targeted these parts.
Acupuncture continues to be immensely popular among Canadians and now appears along several other traditionally classified ‘alternative treatments’ at physiotherapy clinics, chiropractic offices, and elsewhere. As a therapy, it’s been effective at treating hundreds of condition although it appears the true benefits vary from person to person. If you’re interested in learning more about acupuncture and/or purchasing your own acupuncture needles to give the treatment a try at home, visit
Lierre.ca today. There, you’ll find everything you need to begin acupuncture in the safest way.
