How Many Treatments Will I need? & Using Acupuncture for Prevention
How many acupuncture treatments do you need?
This is such a great question and one that gets asked a lot. There really is not cut and dry answer to this question but there is a general formula that we can follow.
How many?
It always depends on the person, because everyone is different and also if what we are working on is acute (happened recently) vs chronic (has been around a long time). Generally the recommendation is once a week for 6-8 treatments and then go from there. Having said that if we are dealing with something that is chronic it may take more visit. If it didn't happen over night unfortunately it isn't gonna go away over night either.
A lot of people feel relaxed, less anxious and generally better even after just one acupuncture treatment. To make that feeling and results last, however, multiple treatments are needed.
Acupuncture is cumulative, with each visit building on the next one. This means that after each treatment, the goal is for you to feel a little bit better, for a little longer, until you get to a place where you can manage things better on your own. Then we can start spacing the treatments out, to see how you feel. Our ultimate goal is to get you into a practice of getting a treatment once a month for preventative care and maintenance.
Prevention
There is a lot of truth in the saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Acupuncture can be a wonderful way to practice this. So much of prevention is reducing stress, increasing circulation and decreasing inflammation. Acupuncture can hit all three! Think of using acupuncture in a way that fits your life. Had a really stressful week or have one coming up? This is a great time to get in for a treatment. Do you know that you have bad PMS symptoms? Come in the week before those symptoms take hold. Had an really physical weekend of skiing of biking and the body is feeling a little over stressed and sore. Great time for a treatment! PREVENTION!
Once we hit that 6-8 visit we will then try two weeks between treatments, then three, etc.
I will often recommend that my patients come in monthly for maintenance treatments. Acupuncture is incredibly helpful at *preventing* issues once we've got it under control, so wellness visits are a very helpful option at that point.