Tube insertion

Insertion of acupuncture needles using a find tube as a guide. Tube insertion employs a thin stainless steel, glass, or plastic tubular guide into which a tailless needle (one without the end ring) is placed before insertion. Insertion tubes are approximately 4 mm shorter than the needles for which they are intended, thus exposing a consistent length of the needle handle when the tube and the needle tip are allowed to rest on the skin surface. The needle is gently tapped into the skin until the top of the needle handle is level with, or just below, the top of the tube. The guide tube is then removed and the needle is inserted to the appropriate depth. This technique is most often used with long and/or fine needles, as well as in the treatment of children and sensitive adults. Practitioners who favor the use of insertion tubes often develop skills in manipulating the tube and the needle with one hand. Such skill allows acupuncture points to be palpated and located with the index finger of the left hand, whereas the tube and needle are prepared with the right hand. Care must be taken when practicing this technique that clean fields are not compromised. The practitioner must not come in contact with the body of the needle.