I’m thinking of trying acupuncture but I’m worried I’ll faint during treatment. I’ve read this is possible but does anyone know how common it is or what would cause it?

It is very rare. I have never seen or heard of anyone fainting while getting acupuncture. It is best to be laying down in a relaxing position. My suggestion is that you have a healthy snack a half hour before the treatment, because after the needles are all out and you get up to go is when I have seen some people get a little funny feeling for a few seconds. Usually it is because they need to eat and it resolves quickly, but avoided with not getting a treatment on an empty stomach. Some people actually like this feeling because they feel lite and floaty.

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Has anyone tried acupuncture and felt pain throughout the session? Or does it vary from person to person?

Extreme pain is usually due to too much aggressive needling with the individual patient, especially on a first treatment. You should absolutely communicate this to the acupuncturist.

If, as someone else mentions, the pain was more a dull, distending sensation, or mild ache that is tolerable it is a common sensation. This is not generally reported as "painful", so much as the patient is aware of the needle.

Side note – 42 states regulate the practice of acupuncture.

Edit – Claims that acupuncture is not regulated in the United States are patently and blatantly false. It is regulated at the state level and as noted above the vast majority of states do regulate non-MD acupuncturists.

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Wood, metal, earth, fire and water.

I tried searching it on the internet but couldn’t find anything specific to acupuncture.

Thanks.

This is just a very basic overview.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) the Five Elements school of thought applies the elements to the Zang-Fu organs and their associated Acupuncture meridians. There is also a classification of points on each meridian that is further associated with an element, and are some of the most commonly used points.

When a pattern diagnosis is given the acupuncture treatment is then applied to balancing the organs/elements through the use of the Sheng/Ke Cycles. The Sheng Cycle illustrates how each element nourishes another, while the Ke Cycle denotes the restraining/tempering action of each element on another.

This is a very simplified example: A pattern presents as a Kidney vacuity. Kidney is associated with the element of Water. In the Sheng cycle Water is nourished by Metal (Lung), while Water nourishes Wood (Liver). So the acupuncturist might choose to insert needles in the following:

~Earth nourishes Water, so we might needle the Earth Point of the Lung Meridian to nourish Metal (which nourishes Water).
~Metal Pt of the Kidney Meridian to further nourish Water.
~Metal Pt of the Liver Meridian to sedate Wood, as Metal controls Wood in the Ke Cycle (so Metal does not draw on the Water element too strongly).

Keep in mind Five Element Theory is not the only way in which Acupuncture is applied.

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