How many acupuncture sessions do I need ?
This is a fair and often-asked question. If you have a problem, you will want to fix it. Generally, you will want to know how long it’s going to take or how many sessions of treatment are needed before a solution is reached or the problem is rectified. To be frank, this question is not an easy one to answer. It would be nice to be able to say: headache, that is 2 treatments; tired muscles from exercise = 1 treatment; lower back pain for 2 months = 7 treatments.
Unfortunately, it’s not possible to be that exact.
The body is a constantly changing and adapting organism. Some patients respond quickly and need only 2 treatments. Others are very different and may need 6 sessions for the same problem.
However, it can be exasperating to hear “it depends” or “how long is a piece of string” in regards to how many treatments you need, so I’ll try and summarise some general factors that indictate a rough estimate of how many sessions.
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Acute problems = 1 – 4 acupuncture treatments
If the problem is acute (1 week) or short term (less than a month), then the body should respond to a certain degree after the first session. This change may occur immediately or more usually a day or two later as the acupuncture effect is a bit like exercise – it takes a little while for the stimulus to be absorbed and take effect.
In this case, the treatment range would be between 1 – 4 treatments. After 4 acupuncture treatments, I would expect there to be a significant beneficial effect to alleviate the problem. If not, then perhaps acupuncture is not the right treatment course in this situation.
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Chronic problems = 4 – 10 acupuncture treatments
If the problem has been present for 2 or more months, then it will require a series of up to 4 treatments to gauge the response. At the end of the 4 sessions, progress will be assessed and if indicated, another 4 to 6 treatments will be recommended. This would allow acupuncture an appropriate chance to address the problem.
You could also view the treatments as occurring in different stages:
Corrective stage – Treatments to bring the body back to homeostasis (balance)
Maintenance stage – top up treatments to keep the problem in check
Frequency
In my experience, acupuncture is needed at least once a week in the corrective stage. This keeps the momentum going forward as the sessions build on each other. To speed things up, you can come multiple times a week. This can be a beneficial way to make a stronger impact on the problem at the start of treatment course.
Maintenance phase – this can be done every 1 to 3 months to keep the body from slipping back into the previous negative habits and to pre-empt a return of the problem.
Response to acupuncture treatment is also dependent on many factors, but here are just a few:
Age
General health
Fitness level
Diet
Work type/amount/intensity
Attitude to recovery
Patients will heal at different rates even if it is for similar problems. Having said that, I hope the above summary gives a rough indication of how many treatments may be required to alleviate or remedy a health problem. |