In short
- Post-operative nausea and vomiting is one of the better-supported uses, including via acupressure at a point on the inner forearm.
- There is some evidence for reduced post-operative pain and reduced opioid requirement.
- Wait until your surgical team is happy, and never needle over or near a fresh wound.
- Tell your surgeon you are planning acupuncture, particularly if you are on anticoagulants.
Nausea after an operation
Nausea and vomiting after anaesthesia is common and genuinely miserable. Stimulation of a point on the inner forearm (by needle, or by acupressure band) has been studied repeatedly for this, and the results are among the more consistent in the acupuncture literature. Some hospitals use it as part of routine care.
Acupressure wristbands are cheap and need no practitioner. If you have had bad post-operative nausea before, mention it to your anaesthetist, who has effective medication for it too.
Pain and opioid use
A number of studies report that patients receiving acupuncture after surgery use somewhat less opioid medication and report slightly lower pain scores. Effects are generally modest and the studies vary in quality, but the direction is reasonably consistent, and reducing opioid exposure is a worthwhile goal in itself.
This does not mean declining prescribed pain relief. Uncontrolled pain after surgery delays mobilisation, which delays recovery and raises the risk of complications. The aim is comfort enough to move, not stoicism.
Acupuncture sits alongside medical care, not in place of it. Keep any treatment your physician has prescribed, and tell your acupuncturist about it.
When it is safe to start
- Ask your surgical team. For many routine procedures, treatment away from the surgical site is acceptable early.
- No needling through or immediately adjacent to a fresh incision or dressing.
- If you have a drain, catheter or implanted device, the practitioner must know where.
- If you are on an anticoagulant, common after some operations, say so before any needling.
- Avoid needling in a limb affected by lymphoedema, or at risk of it after lymph node surgery, without specific advice.
Signs that need your surgeon, urgently
Contact your surgical team rather than an acupuncturist for a wound that becomes increasingly red, hot, swollen or starts discharging; fever; a sudden increase in pain; calf pain or swelling; shortness of breath or chest pain. These can indicate infection or a clot and need prompt assessment.
What to tell your practitioner
- What operation you had and when.
- Where the incisions, drains and dressings are.
- Every medication, especially anticoagulants and pain relief.
- Any implanted device or metalwork.
- What your surgical team has said about activity and restrictions.