If you’re interested in maximizing your health and wellbeing, you may already know that acupressure and acupuncture for anxiety and stress are tried and tested approaches to rapidly feel better. Acupuncture and acupressure, originating from the East, have been used for thousands of years to treat a variety of health conditions by releasing energy blockages around the body. The skilled practitioner works with the client to understand his or her particular issues, and then expertly uses acupuncture needles or finger pressure to gently release blockages and to encourage energy to flow once again. Western medicine may not fully understand how it works, but it is recognized as a valuable treatment.
But what about Micro-Needling? You may have heard about this form of acupuncture-like treatment and wondered if micro-needling is the same as acupuncture for anxiety and stress. Let’s take a closer look.
What is Micro-Needling?
Micro-Needling is used primarily as a cosmetic treatment to tackle the signs of ageing. Tiny sterile needles are placed into the epidermis—the outer layer of the skin—to cause microscopic wounds. As the skin repairs, it releases collagen, which helps to create new, fresh and younger-looking skin. Micro-Needling is used to help counteract scarring, pigmentation and other signs of ageing such as thickened skin. Once the needles have punctured the skin, sterile serums may be applied to push beneficial collagen-enhancing ingredients into the skin. This procedure is performed in a sterile atmosphere by a skilled therapist.
Is Acupuncture for Anxiety and Stress different?
Micro-Needling is in effect a form of acupuncture, apart from the fact that micro-needling only works to tackle the skin as one of the organs of the body. On the other hand, acupuncture and acupressure work to support organs throughout the body. The two therapies can and are used in a complementary way. For example, micro-needling can be used to improve the appearance of the skin on the face and acupuncture can be used for wellbeing and stress relief and to encourage the body to heal itself and to work in its most optimum way.
There is a difference between the therapies, and that is the fact that acupuncture requires a significant amount of study before a practitioner can deliver acupuncture therapies. Whereas micro-needling providers have a qualification given to them by the licensee or manufacturer of the micro-needling system that they use.
For this reason, it is very important to ensure you are happy with the qualifications, procedures, and safety of the clinic and therapist that you are using, as micro-needling is a mildly invasive procedure that involves puncturing the skin and as such, there is a risk of infection and scarring if it is done incorrectly.
As with all health and wellbeing treatments, there can be wonderful benefits when you use complementary therapies such as acupuncture and micro-needling but do your research first to check your suitability and to assess the therapist and their credentials.