Iowa City Acupuncture   •   Acupuncture Services

Acupuncture needles are medical instruments, approved for use as a medical device by the FDA. A needle has a handle and a blade. In our office, we use needles with either silver-wound handles, gold-wound, solid metal, or plastic handles. The blade may be one quarter inch to 5 inches in length, and are usually from 30 to 42 gauge in thickness. The tensile qualities vary between different brands of needles, and we select the needle that is best for the situation we are addressing. Each acupuncturist has their preferences in needles, just as any professional may have preferred tools.

We most often insert needles with the assistance of an insertion tube or guide tube. This was an ingenious invention by the Japanese, made to enable the practitioner to painlessly insert the needle. It also enables the acupuncturist to avoid touching the blade of the needle, which helps to avoid infection. The guide tubes are clear or transparent plastic, and are packaged with the needles. In using the shorter needles, we may not use a guide tube, as it is not necessary to stabilize the needle. In ear acupuncture, we avoid guide tubes because they make accurate insertion more difficult. Here are some photos of needles we use in our clinic.

Needles are sterilized by ethylene oxide gas in manufacturing, and are packaged just as any other medical device to remain sterile until opened. In Iowa, Licensed Acupuncturists are required to use single-use sterile disposable needles. Other health practitioners who use acupuncture in Iowa are not held to this standard. Be sure that your practitioner is using disposable needles only one time on you. When re-sterilized, needles may become brittle or dull, making them more painful and more prone to breaking during use. Licensed acupuncturists are trained that there is NO SAFE RE-STERILIZATION of acupuncture needles.