Acupuncture points for erectile dysfunction: where the needles go

If you're considering acupuncture for erectile dysfunction, the first question is usually the obvious one.

The needles don't go in your genitals. In the research that exists, the points used are on the limbs, the abdomen, and the back.

Here's where they actually go, what the evidence shows, and who shouldn't have acupuncture at all.

Where the needles go

Traditional Chinese medicine holds that the energy pathways associated with erectile function run the length of the body, so treatment isn't applied locally.

In one pilot study of acupuncture for erectile dysfunction, the points used were:¹

• Slightly below the navel

• Slightly above the hairline at the back of the head

• Between the inside ankle bone and the Achilles tendon

• On the inside of the wrist

Expect variation. Point selection depends partly on tradition and partly on your practitioner's own training, and there's no standard protocol for erectile dysfunction in the way there is for a licensed medicine.

The theory behind the points

Chinese medicine describes around 360 acupoints, connected into twelve "meridians" named after organ systems: a lung meridian, a spleen meridian, a heart meridian, and so on. Traditional practitioners describe acupuncture as balancing the flow of energy, or Qi, through the body.²

Western practitioners tend to describe it differently, as a way of stimulating nerves, muscles, and connective tissue, possibly prompting the release of the body's own pain-relieving chemicals.

Meridians aren't anatomical structures you'd find in a dissection. They're a traditional framework, and the exact size and location of individual points is still debated among practitioners.

What happens in a session

A session usually lasts around half an hour, and more than one is typical.

The needles are very fine, a few centimetres long, and made of sterilised single-use surgical steel. They go just under the skin or slightly deeper into muscle, and may be left in place for up to half an hour. A dozen or so sites is normal.

A tingling or dull ache at the needle site is expected. Reported side effects are uncommon and generally mild: pain, bruising or bleeding where the needle went in, drowsiness, and feeling dizzy.

Who shouldn't have acupuncture

If you take blood-thinning medication, or you have a bleeding disorder, acupuncture isn't suitable for you.

If you have a pacemaker, tell your practitioner before any treatment.

Both are worth knowing here in particular, because erectile dysfunction and cardiovascular conditions often occur together, so more readers of this page will be affected than you'd expect.

Speak to your GP before starting any complementary therapy, and use an accredited practitioner.

Does acupuncture help erectile dysfunction?

The honest answer is that nobody knows.

The research is inconclusive. One older trial suggested acupuncture might have some use as an add-on to another treatment, specifically where the erectile dysfunction had a psychological cause.³ That's a single study, it's nearly thirty years old, and it describes acupuncture as an addition to treatment rather than a replacement for it.

The safety evidence for acupuncture in erectile dysfunction specifically is also thin, simply because too few studies have looked at it.³

Where acupuncture does have reasonable evidence behind it is musculoskeletal pain and certain types of migraine, which is why it appears in some NHS clinics. Erectile dysfunction isn't one of those uses.

Acupressure is a different thing

Worth separating, because the two get used interchangeably and they aren't the same.

Acupressure uses finger pressure on the same traditional points. No needles, no practitioner, nothing breaking the skin. People do it to themselves.

That changes the practical picture entirely. The contraindications above are about needles: blood thinners matter because of bleeding, and a pacemaker matters because some acupuncture uses electrical stimulation.

The evidence picture doesn't improve, though. There's even less research on acupressure for erectile dysfunction than there is on acupuncture, and what applies to one doesn't automatically transfer to the other.

So: low risk, no real evidence, and nothing lost by trying it. Just don't let it replace finding out what's actually going on.

What's worth doing first

Erection problems that come and go with stress or tiredness are one thing. Erection problems that happen every time, have come on gradually, and come with morning erections fading are another.

That second pattern points to something physical: blood flow, blood sugar, hormones, or a medication you already take. The vessels involved are small, which is why erection problems are often the earliest visible sign of a cardiovascular issue.⁴

If that's the pattern you recognise, a course of acupuncture is a slow way to find out it wasn't the answer.

We've also looked at other natural approaches to erectile dysfunction, and at the treatments with the strongest evidence behind them.

The numan take

The needles go in your limbs, abdomen, and back, not your genitals. The evidence that it helps erectile dysfunction is inconclusive, and the safety evidence for this use specifically is too thin to judge.

If you want to try it, use an accredited practitioner, and don't if you're on blood thinners.

And if erections are the problem you're solving, finding out what's causing them will get you further.

References

^{1 Kho HG, Sweep CG, Chen X, Rabsztyn PR, Meuleman EJ. The use of acupuncture in the treatment of erectile dysfunction. Int J Impot Res. 1999;11(1):41-6.}

^{2 Lee I-S, Ryu Y, Chae Y. Oversimplifying the name of the 12 meridian channels. Integr Med Res. 2023;12(4):101002.}

^{3 Cui X, Zhou J, Qin Z, Liu Z. Acupuncture for erectile dysfunction: A systematic review. Biomed Res Int. 2016;2016:2171923.}

^{4 Cortese F, Costantino MF, Luzi G. Can we consider erectile dysfunction as an early marker of cardiovascular disease? JACC Adv. 2023;2(4):100384.}