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Treatment Time and Frequency

Acupuncture treatments usually last anywhere from 20 minutes to 1 hour in length, although one may feel immediate improvements in symptoms of pain, numbness, and diminished range of motion. By leaving the needles in place for this amount of time, the channel balancing effect is strengthened.

Depending upon several variables, the symptoms treated may begin to reassert themselves at some time following the treatment. It is important to receive treatments at a frequency rate such that one receives subsequent treatments before the symptoms return to the full degree at which they presented before the initial treatment session.

In this way we can stay ahead of the condition, and each subsequent treatment should be followed by a diminishing return of the original symptoms. Initially, treatments are often spaced only a few days apart, with patients sometimes receiving treatment two to three times per week for the first two weeks. Treatment frequency can be reduced as the symptoms or condition improves and stabilizes.

In our clinical experience there is a 5-10% chance that a symptom aggravation may occur either during or soon after a treatment. Incidence of symptom aggravation also seems to be higher during the initial treatments. Usually the report of a symptom aggravation is a positive sign, since in the great majority of these situations the aggravation clears up within 24-36 hours and the patient reports feeling better than before. Often times cases of symptom aggravation are due to situations where the patient, feeling no pain or discomfort after the initial treatment or two, mistakenly thinks that the condition has been entirely healed and engages in behavior or activity that results in more damage. It is very important that patients consult us about when it is safe to resume certain activities, and to what degree.