“Where are acupuncture needles placed for vertigo?”

There is a treatment for vertigo and each treatment is designed for each patient individually

Because Acupuncture meridians or channels traverse the whole body, treating Vertigo could include needles in the neck, around the ear, in the forearms, hands, lower legs and feet. It could involve a needle or two in each of those places, or it could be just the lower body and hands with nothing on the head or neck at all - it completely depends on your energetic diagnosis and what channels need to be rebalanced. The treatment is unique to you! ~Rebecca

In Traditional Chinese Medicine we learned that vertigo is a problem caused by heart and bile organs or viscera. A good provider will know where to place needles for this condition.

Needle placement always depends on the style of practice of the practitioner. Commonly, you might have needles placed in your hands and feet, around the knees or ankles, and perhaps some on your head. Some practitioners use special styles that are different from the standard 12 channels, and they might use only a certain area, instead of distributing them. You might also receive back needles, which they place along the muscles of your spine and lower legs.

There are points for vertigo on the sides of the head and then points on the arms and legs are also added based on your pattern and what type of vertigo you have. It depends on the practitioner and your own pattern. Personal preference also plays a major role, if you are not comfortable or able to have needles in your feet, you won't have them out there. It's your treatment, your body, and you are in control.

Thank you for your question about vertigo. Acupuncture treats every patient as an individual, based on information gathered during the initial visit, including that from feeling the radial pulse and looking at the tongue. Therefore, it is impossible to tell you which acupuncture points the practitioner may use prior to doing the intake.

it depends on what is going on. I encourage you to book a session with your practitioner of choice to get help with relief.

They will be in various areas of the body, most on the face and head

There are a few causes for vertigo, each of which are treated by multiple needles all over the body, so it is difficult to answer without assessing in person.

The treatment of vertigo is suitable for each person. It is necessary to make a diagnosis according to your condition, and then select the corresponding acupuncture points.

So that's a great question. Each acupuncturist will treat differently, therefore using a variety of different acupuncture points depending on the underlying pattern is how the acupuncturist you're seeing will determine which points to use. They can be place in a variety of locations from the limbs, to the abdomen, sometimes the neck and/or head. It all depends on the underlying cause of the vertigo that determines which points will be utilized. I hope that this short message helps, if you are worried about the needles, acupuncture doesn't really hurt very much especially if you are seeing someone who is gentle. Best of luck on your health journey!

Dr. Sam

Some needles might be placed in front of and behind your ear, but your practitioner may have some other points to add.

It's very difficult to say where needles might be placed. There are two primary reasons why this is the case:

1. I don't understand why, from the perspective of Chinese medicine, you're experiencing vertigo. There's a diagnostic process associated with treatment and, just like we don't expect western MDs to treat without labs or x-rays, we shouldn't expect eastern doctors to treat without their diagnostics. Just knowing you have vertigo is not nearly enough information for me, or any other practitioner of Chinese medicine, to answer the key question which is: why is this happening? Answering the why is what drives point selection.

2. There are multiple different systems of acupuncture. This means there is no guarantee that an acupuncturist in your area might choose to address your problem the same way I might.

If you're nervous about needles and need or want to know where they might be placed before committing to treatment, I'd suggest you go to the Find a Practitioner link at NCCAOM.org, use your zip code to get a list of providers in your area, call around and take advantage of any free consults they might be offering. Go to a few consults, let the practitioner ask a few questions and arrive at a working hypothesis for your issue and see where each would put needles. Then go with the person you like best.