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How many times do you come in for acupuncture to get results?
The question we get at the end of nearly every first visit: "So how many of these do I need?"
Typically, based upon our years/decades of experience: Twelve. Weekly.
We'll tell you why that number, because "a series of treatments" is a useless answer and I've never liked giving it.
Acupuncture works by changing how your body responds, not by overriding a symptom for a
few hours. A response pattern that took two years to build doesn't reverse in one appointment. It
shifts in layers, and each layer needs the one before it to hold.
Roughly what it looks like:
Weeks 1–4:
We address the symptom while securing a foundation of health. You sleep harder.
You have a normal bowel movement. And again the next day. You have some more energy. The
symptom lessens in intensity and frequency.
Weeks 5–8
You might start noticing your symptom(s) as frequently. Still there, just less
prevalent. Less often, less intense, shorter when it comes. This is where people think they might
cancel the specialist appointment they booked earlier in the summer.
Weeks 9–12
The relief holds between visits. That's the actual goal — not feeling good on my
table, feeling good on a Thursday when nothing special is happening. It’s an absence of
symptom(s) that we are looking for!
We check in at every visit to know where we are in the process. Typically, we are looking for two
weeks in a row of sustained symptom relief – that’s when we know the pattern has truly
changed back into one of health and functioning well.
For acute pain we start at two a week for the first few weeks, then drop to one.
Twelve weekly sessions is where meaningful change happens. Give us a call at 443-219-1220!
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