Phantom Needle Pain
Dear Patient,
Sometimes when you get acupuncture, you’ll feel a needle-like sensation in a spot where there’s not actually a needle. Similarly, a needle sensation might persist even after a needle is removed. I call these phantom needle pains.
Referred pain, which is a nervous system response, happens all the time in the body. A heart attack can manifest as pain in the jaw. Gallstones can cause pain in the right shoulder blade. Even the brain freeze that occurs when you consume frozen drinks or foods is a type of referred pain. The intense cold of ice cream stimulates nerve endings in the mouth and throat, and the pain signal travels to the back of the head via the vagus nerve.
But phantom pain is different. Phantom pain is an energetic phenomenon, evidence of qi moving through the meridians. Qi can light up a signal in some seemingly unconnected area of the body. Or it can leave an imprint in a place where it was previously concentrated or stuck. Qi doesn’t even need a physical matrix to move through. This is why an amputee may experience phantom limb pain, the feeling of pain in an extremity even after it has been removed. Meridians don’t get amputated, because they are immaterial. The qi still flows through them, even when the physical structure surrounding them is gone.
It’s a reminder that needles are only one element of healing. Even after a needle is removed, the body continues to adjust and recalibrate. The work is still happening.
The body is full of mysterious pathways of communication. The qi moves where it will, sometimes in unexpected places and ways.
Love and gratitude,
Your Acupuncturist