Vein ruptured during acupuncture? Does this happen? Or is it out of the ordinary?

Have any of you out there in Yahoo-land had accupuncture treatments? I have been going once a week for about 7 months now to treat my asthma and until recently, it has been great! It's the one thing that has really helped me control my asthma outside of courses of prednisone.

However, after my accupuncture appojntment last week, my left forarm started to hurt incredibly badly and I developed a long deep bruise from the inside of my wrist to my elbow. It still hurts eventhough the bruise has started to fade. My General Practictioner told me today that my accupuncture Doc punctured a vein causing the intense bruising and pain and that it would take abpout 4 weeks to heal. Needless to say, this has me spooked. Has anyone else had this happen? Did my accupuncture Doc just screw up?

Any annecdotes/advice would be greatly appreciated.

This may indeed be what has happened. I've had it happen to me on a number of occasions. You acupuncturist didn't screw up. It happens. It id pretty unlikely that it was an actual vein, but could have been. It is more likely a larger cappilary. There's nothing wrong with this reaction. I've been getting acupuncture for about 3 years now on a regular basis, and this happens to me from time to time. Some points it's more likely to happen, other points it's almost guaranteed not to happen.

I currently have a bruise from a treatment I had about two and a half weeks ago. I've seen my acupuncturist since, and she said that it was from the acupuncture.

If the acupuncture is helping you, then I say continue. Some people get really freaked out by this kind of reaction. My real suggestion is to mention this to your acupuncturist, and see what kind of answer you get, and if you're comfortable with that answer. There are a number of explanations that can be given, my real question here is what is the character of the answer, rather than what the answer itself is.

Could happen if you go to someone who's not really a professional...

You are probably just one of those that bruise easily. Accupuntcture is usually targeted at pressure points, which aren't generally covered in vains. If you have a condition such as varicose or spider vains, it would be more apt to occur, but I don't think any vain was punctured. If the accupuncture was done properly there wouldn't be anything wrong with you. The problem may just be you, as I said before but I kind of doubt it either way. It really is a fluke incident! I'd ice it at night and possibly soak it in epsom salts in the morning. Maybe some hydrocortizone or triple antibiotic ointment during the day. No casts are needed!

Good luck!

Acupuncture points are located away from veins and nerves and it is very uncommon for larger veins to be punctured by a properly trained and qualified acupuncturist. Sometimes capillaries or smaller veins are punctured and there can occasionally be local bruising and subsequent soreness around a point that has been needled. There are strict guidelines surrounding the treatment of acupuncture and charts and books describing exact locations and needling depths for each point but everybody is different and there are no 'perfect' bodies so acupuncturists do the best they can in each situation. If you have concerns, I suggest you first speak to your acupuncturist about it. If you have been going for treatment weekly for 7 months without incident then he/she is worth at least a phone call, to inform him/her of your experience. It does sound like quite an extreme case, though the bruising is likely to drain down the arm if there is a big leak of blood at the elbow. I understand your apprehension about returning but your acupuncturist should reassure you that this is a very rare occurance. If after speaking to him/her you're still unhappy then you have a number of options : 1. try another acupuncturist, 2. give it up altogether (which would be a shame as you found it really helpful) 3. make an official report to the governing body for acupuncture where ever you are (in the UK it's the British Acupuncture Council) - you'd be able to find out online or your acupuncturist can tell you. If you went for option 3. then there should be and investigation and an assessment of the acupuncturist's capabilities and skills so you need to think carefully about how serious you want to be about it. It may have been an unlucky happening but there is also the possibility that the acupuncturist isn't being careful enough and may need a wake up call or worse. I am slightly concerned that you're still going for weekly treatments 7 months down the line but if it's helping and you're basically happy with the situation then why not make the call and take it from there? I'd say this person deserves at least a chance to redeem themselves. Hope this helps - good luck!

the person that did this may not know what they're doing. acupuncture pins are set to connect the ends of nerves, relieving electrical resistance.

other instruments involve the use of noxibustion or cupping.

what happens in acupuncture is that needles are set just below the skin, and after an initial waiting time (usually 30 minutes), needles are set just a little deeper, and again after 20 more minutes.

Someone that is setting the needles so deep as to cause a hemorrhage by puncturing the vein may not have sufficient experience or lessons from a master. This would be a good basis for a personal injury claim, better yet because you saw another practioner that gave you a summary of the problem.

Another plus in suing the practioner would be to get the incompetent ones off the street

Yes, this should have you spooked. You should have gone back to the accupuncturist as soon as
you began bruising. You did
not know this was a broken
blood vessel???
If you are still blue, go and
see him and tell him of your
displeasure. Why would you
just let this slide? Give him
h e l l.
If he can't tell where a vein is, he needs further study.
Ask him to see his license.
Don't let him do this to other patients.!

There is another scenario that may have happened. Sometimes if you tense a given muscle that has a needle in it, you can cause problems similar to the ones you describe. I would go back and explain it to him/her and ask that they treat it. It will heal much faster. And I doubt it was a vein, my wife is an acupuncturist and they are trained extensively to avoid them. It was probably a small blood vessel.
As for the idiots calling for a lawsuit or demanding to see their license, they are at a minimum hypocrites. You know they would never do the same to an MD! If their GP screwed up a prescription or anything else they would keep their mouth shut. How many people every year are injured, maimed or killed by acupuncture? The answer is none! How many by western medicine? Over 700K!!!

Good luck, Rik