As the lead health and wellness coach at FindItHealth.com, I’m here to clarify what you should and should not do when receiving acupuncture therapy.

If you’re already on the path to health and wellness, you might want to add acupuncture to your regimen. But how soon can you resume a vigorous exercise routine after acupuncture? I’m here to clear things up so you can reap the full benefits of acupuncture while minimizing side effects. Please continue reading!

Can You Workout After Acupuncture?

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Experts advise taking a rest day after acupuncture and keeping exercise to a minimum.

If you feel the need to move, keep it light and avoid heavy lifting or extreme cardio. Vigorous exercise following a session is not recommended because it negates the benefits of acupuncture.

Excessive exercise exhausts your system and disrupts the energy flow established by needlework.

Acupuncture needles move energy through your body’s energy points and meridians.

The acupoints give clear instructions on where the energy should flow in order to balance and heal the body. However, vigorous exercise following treatment disrupts these energy pathways, causing an imbalance in the body. As a result, you may experience a headache, vertigo, or tiredness.

How Long Should You Rest After Acupuncture?

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It is recommended that you rest for the entire day following your treatment. However, a rest day does not mean lying down all day, but rather taking it easy.

A small amount of light exercise can actually enhance the effects of acupuncture.

We recommend walking on the day itself, and the days following treatment.

If you practice yoga, avoid advanced exercises. It is not advisable to engage in strenuous physical activity on the day of your acupuncture session.

Allow your body to rest to restore your physical and emotional well-being and to begin the healing process. You can schedule massage therapy sessions to enhance the healing benefits of acupuncture.

Remember that acupuncture can cause unexpected reactions in your body. Getting plenty of rest allows the body to nurture and replenish itself, ensuring optimum healing.

Because acupuncture gives your body a boost of energy, you may feel motivated to engage in strenuous activities and workouts following your treatment. This is especially true if you are a sports enthusiast.

However, as previously stated, vigorous activity would be doing more harm than good at this time. Enjoy the healing energy, relax, and take it easy.

What Not To Do After Acupuncture

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Here are some things to watch out for that might cancel out the benefits of acupuncture.

Avoid Strenuous Activities 

Don’t be a busybody after a session. Aside from avoiding strenuous exercise after acupuncture, avoid cleaning and other heavy household chores. If you absolutely must fix things, you should consider hiring professional cleaners. Now is the time to rest and conserve energy.

Avoid Coffee and Alcohol

Because it disrupts your body’s natural healing and rhythms, alcohol and coffee counteract the effects of acupuncture. Instead, drink plenty of water and eat plenty of healthy foods to keep the therapy’s positive effects going.

Avoid Eating Junk Food

Acupuncture can help you get rid of toxins in your body. However, eating junk food right after is counterproductive. To maximize the effects of acupuncture, avoid processed foods, fried foods, high-sugar foods, and greasy foods. Instead, choose foods with healing properties to help your body recover and return to peak condition.

Avoid Anything Disruptive to Your Peace of Mind

Following acupuncture, your mind and body will crave rest. Take time away from your regular responsibilities to focus on the healing process. Avoid mental clutter by turning off the television and unplugging from the internet. 

The moment you turn on the TV, smartphone, or computer and immerse yourself in the bright lights and flashing visuals, any healing you’re trying to recover might diminish. To restore your body’s balance, take a rest day, listen to music, take a nourishing bath, read a self-help book, and cook a delicious meal.

Vigorous Exercise

Weight lifting and extreme cardio activities may be a form of stress relief for you if you enjoy exercise.

However, these activities may cause infection and irritation due to the sensitive skin and open punctures of acupuncture.

High-intensity activities convert your body into a heater and sweating machine, which expands the pores and needle punctures, allowing bacteria and sweat to enter easily.

It is best to avoid strenuous exercise until the needle holes have healed and diminished completely.

What To Eat After Acupuncture

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After acupuncture, you’ll be ready for a great meal. But which foods are best? We’ve got suggestions.

Eat Good Food

Acupuncture drives out toxins. Do not bring these toxins back in by eating poor-quality food. Cut out processed foods and sugar entirely from your diet for a few days. Instead, go for foods with healing properties such as the following: 

• Blueberries
• Blackberries
• Cranberries
• Turmeric
• Pecans
• Artichoke
• Kale
• Spinach
• Ginger
• Kidney Beans
• Herbs such as Thyme, Basil, and Oregano
• Peppers
• Tomato
• Broccoli
• Green Tea

Food is sustenance, and eating allows you to keep your body healing after acupuncture. When viewed in this light, fast food and junk food become less appealing. After an acupuncture session, consider the foods listed here and include them in your diet for the next few days.

Foods to Eat From the Standpoint of Chinese Medicine

Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medicine. From this perspective, here are a few things to keep in mind when eating after acupuncture. 

• Food for body strengthening – Food is used in traditional Chinese health care to prevent diseases, strengthen the body, and prolong life. Choose a simple and light diet that is low in sweet, salted, processed, greasy, or rich-tasting foods.
• Avoid phlegm-inducing foods – Avoid dairy products, especially if you’re trying to lose weight. Dairy is prone to dampness and phlegm production. Bananas, peanut butter, sweet foods, and soy foods are also phlegm-producing foods. To promote digestion, eat and drink foods that are mostly warm, easy to digest, and lightly flavored with herbs and spices.

Cold foods – Smoothie salads and cold drinks should be consumed only in the summer and in moderation. Cold and raw foods in the stomach cause the digestive system to slow down and the metabolism to slow down. In Chinese medicine, the “fire” or energy can be extinguished over time if too many cold things counteract it. Excessive cold also chills your body and slows your circulation. From the perspective of science, anything cold inhibits enzymatic activity and your foods won’t get assimilated or properly used.

Frequently Asked Questions

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How long should you not exercise after acupuncture?

Allow yourself an entire day of rest following an acupuncture treatment.

The effects of the needles last for at least 24 hours after they are removed. Following a session, your body is rebalancing and readjusting. Allow the acupuncture to take full effect and do its healing work. According to Chinese medicine, exercise disrupts the Qi flow and circulation that acupuncture is attempting to achieve.

Remember that acupuncture is already an internal workout for the entire body system, and energy is expended during this session. As a result, any additional exercise exhausts and weakens the Qi energy.

What should you not do after acupuncture?

In addition to what we’ve already mentioned, you should avoid the following after acupuncture treatment:

• Getting High

Following an acupuncture treatment, your body works hard to convert the stimulated acupoints into acute healing and homeostasis. Alcohol and recreational drugs interfere with the healing process and negate any treatment benefits.

• Sex

Although sex is thought to promote the flow of Qi, it is not recommended after an acupuncture treatment. Sex consumes too much qi and stifles the healing process. We recommend that you wait until the next day to direct your Qi toward sex-related activities beneath the sheets.

Allow acupuncture’s natural high to do its work for at least 24 hours while your body-mind-spirit heals. 

Should I work out before or after acupuncture?

Exercise should be avoided 6 hours before acupuncture, and you should allow yourself at least a 24-hour rest day after treatment.

When you exercise, you deplete your resources while also introducing lactic acid into your muscles.

Acupuncture promotes the proper flow of energy into the body. Acupuncture can be extremely beneficial for athletes and exercise enthusiasts in terms of pain relief and restoring the body to full health after an injury.

A specialized branch of acupuncture, sports acupuncture is particularly popular among athletes of all types, such as Olympians, MLB, and NFL players, as well as cyclists, runners, and rock climbers. This modality can help sports performance in various ways, physically and mentally.

Acupuncture can be of vast help with the following: 

• Frozen shoulder
• Tennis elbow
• Golfer’s shoulder
• Tendonitis
• Pulled tendons
• Torn ligaments
• Back pain
• Neck pain

What is the best exercise after acupuncture?

We recommend gentle walking, swimming, and some light stretching. These activities are an excellent substitute for a high-intensity workout. Avoid doing intense workouts so that the healing vibes from the treatment can settle in. Drink plenty of water after any form of physical activity following your treatment to replenish electrolytes.

Conclusion – Research by Findithealth.com

To reap the full benefits of acupuncture, it is crucial to understand what to do before and after the treatment. 

Acupuncture is used by most people on a health and wellness journey, as well as pro athletes and Olympians, to improve healing, athletic performance, and pain relief. 

Practitioners advise you to limit your physical activity before and after acupuncture therapy and to give your body and mind complete rest days.

Following that, you’d feel the flow of energy propelling your body to peak performance. Besides improving the athletic performance of already healthy individuals, acupuncture can improve the exercise tolerance of people who’re dealing with serious conditions.

According to one study, scalp acupuncture combined with exercise therapy improves motor function in children with spastic cerebral palsy more than exercise therapy alone.

In a placebo-controlled pilot study, acupuncture improved exercise tolerance in patients with congestive heart failure.

We recommend investigating the numerous advantages of acupuncture for improving your health and athletic performance. To properly guide you in the best course of action for your acupuncture treatments, always seek the advice of a medical practitioner, especially if you’re dealing with a serious health condition.

Thank you for spending time reading this article! Use them during your next acupuncture session. Please return for additional advice as we update!