How Often Will I Need An Acupuncture Treatment?

This is just a quick article about how often you need an acupuncture treatment.   A large number of people come to see me after trying everything else for their problem. They will tell me that I’m their last resort. But what I often encounter with this type of person is someone who is looking for a miracle.

Acupuncture is not magic, it does not work with one or two treatments – even though news reports may make it seem so.

Acupuncture works best when you receive it

often enough for your particular problem.

This is usually 2 to 3 times a week when you first start a course of treatment. If you want your acupuncture to work and help you with your problem, then you’ll expect this and plan on going to the clinic frequently at first.

Acupuncture is a cumulative treatment, each treatment builds on the previous one and eventually you’ll start noticing improvements, then the changes will start lasting longer and longer until you’ve reached a plateau or your problem has resolved.

A good rule of thumb to estimate how long it will take to treat a problem (this refers to one problem, not a slew of them) is a month of treatment for every year that you’ve had this problem. Of course, when I do an estimate, I add or subtract time based on your age, the severity of your problem, and your co-morbidities.

What I have learned in providing these estimates is that everyone is different. Not everyone will respond like I think they should. Often I’m surprised at how quickly someone will start experiencing improvement and recover from their problem.  I’ve also learned which problems take longer, and if you have one of these, I will tell you when I first see you.

I hope this article helps answer some of your questions about receiving acupuncture care and how often you should receive an acupuncture treatment.