When Acupuncture and Massage Work—and When They Don’t

When Acupuncture and Massage Work—and When They Don’t

From Live Long and Well with Dr. Bobby by Dr. Bobby Dubois

April 21, 2026 · 21 min · Season 1 · Episode 68

About this episode

This episode discusses the effectiveness of massage and acupuncture, highlighting their short-term benefits and the distinction between symptom relief and addressing underlying issues.

This episode explores what massage and acupuncture can genuinely help with, where the benefits appear to be mostly short term, and where the evidence simply does not support the bigger claims. Massage and acupuncture are widely used, and many people spend real time, money, and hope on them. I walk through an important distinction: feeling better is not the same as changing the underlying problem or speeding healing. A treatment may reduce pain, soreness, anxiety, or tension without actually f...

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Bobby Dubois

Topics covered

  • acupuncture
  • massage
  • pain management
  • short-term benefits
  • healing
  • anxiety reduction

Keywords

  • acupuncture
  • massage
  • pain relief
  • healing
  • anxiety
  • tension
  • soreness

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: When Acupuncture and Massage Work—and When They Don’t

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