Acupuncture? what is it? so where does the needle come in?  Well its quite new to TCM only about two thousand years old. 

Over time through Tui-na massage,  what are now called acupuncture points (or Acu points) were found. Acu points  are certain points of the body that when stimulated with a needle create a natural therapeutic healing response at a deeper energetic level than massage alone.
 

Acupuncture involves placing single use very fine needles (slightly thicker than human hair) into strategic points on the body to restore balance and create a natural therapeutic healing process that can improve state of mind, increase energy levels, improve constitution, support the immune system and relieve pain.

The Acupuncture needle was developed and enhanced as it could both stimulate a  acu point and a number of needles could be used to balance the body at the same time. 

You could simultaneously  treat the hands, arms, head, torso, legs and feet with needles to balance a treatment with Acupuncture that could not be done with massage, thus creating a more rounded holistic treatment of the body!