Prognosis: How Many Treatments are Needed?
There is an equation I use for understanding how well and how quickly acupuncture will work for you. Usually, the question is posed; “How many acupuncture treatments will it take to effectively treat this?”
Like many important questions, the right answer is variable and a little complex. Here are the things to consider.
Severity of the complaint: The more severe the condition it is, the longer it will take to reduce and eliminate it.
Duration of complaint: Is this an acute or chronic condition? Acute conditions tend to be self-limiting whilst chronic ones tend to be ongoing.
Is this an injury (external medicine?) or is it an internal medicine issue? Some are a combination (ex.: inflammation exacerbating an external injury). The prognosis is different in each circumstance.
Do you have proper Western diagnosis for the root issue?
Sometimes the imaging, for instance, of a musculoskeletal pain issue will help me to fine-tune your acupuncture treatments. Other times, a western diagnosis can be misleading.
An example of a misleading Western diagnosis could be when you are diagnosed with a joint injury, and I am detect a nerve root issue. It’s important to re-evaluate and treat the root (i.e.: the neck), not just the branch (i.e.: your arm).
(Side note: Chinese Medicine diagnostics tend to be more comprehensive, going beyond the terminology of the Western diagnosis which usually just address which is the diseased tissue).
How old are you and what’s your general health like?
This is important because healthy tissues heal faster, and the older we get the slower the healing process might be.
What kind of patient are you?
Are you willing to take supplements, herbal formulas or do other prescribed therapies? Maybe you’re more the type to choose to ‘experiment’ with testing one modality at a time? One of these types of patients nearly always gets better and faster results. Can you guess which one? If you guessed the patient that tries to do ‘all the things,’ you are correct.
Sometimes patients unknowingly set their expectations too high. For instance, shouldn’t just one treatment cure what ails you? Sure, we have all heard of those one treatment success stories, but that is not the way it usually works. It takes work and it takes time. If you want to get better faster, you may also have to do some of the work. Zero outside commitment on your part might mean you actually have to come in more often for acupuncture. I ask all my patients to try at least five treatments to gauge the effectiveness of acupuncture for their condition. From there, ideally patients with severe or chronic pain are committing to no less than ten treatments.
If you’re a patient who does all the things they are capable of doing, returning once a week should be enough to get satisfactory results for a low severity chronic condition or a minor injury. However, coming in 2-3 times per week is a far more proactive approach and one that should absolutely be taken for severe pain, or a more severe condition. Especially if you aren’t also involved in physical therapy, or other rehabilitative activities. Also, with newer health issues such as acute pain situations, you want to capitalize on your body’s healing mechanisms and shoot for more than 1 treatment per week to get the momentum going. For chronic pain, meaning over 3 months duration, consistency with treatments becomes the first consideration.
Now let’s discuss how treatment duration. For someone struggling with an issue for a year before coming in for acupuncture, a solid month with multiple visits per week totaling up to 12 visits is a good starting place. Why? We’re shooting for at least a month of multiple treatments per week to match each year that you have been in pain, to get some results that are lasting. Putting the work in over that shorter amount of time gains the traction necessary to get results. The severity of pain determines how many times per week you should come in. If it’s over a 5/10 in severity, start with 2-3 visits per week if you can. You can’t overdo acupuncture and especially with the massage added on, it’s a very enjoyable way to encourage your body to heal.
So again, if you have been living with an issue for years, translate the number of years into the same number of treatment months for optimal outcomes. Multiple visits per week will depend on your level of pain. A pattern of pain for 9 years? That can be translated to 9 months of regular, weekly treatments to really get the results you want.
Considering the nature of your condition (chronic internal medicine issues can vary wildly with healing times), and the variables mentioned, such as your age, your constitutional health and your compliance, you can start to make some guesses on how long treatment might take. Always, default to asking your acupuncturists, and know that most, like myself want to under-promise and over-deliver. Often patients do get better faster than we calculate. That is the fun part of our medicine. Over the years I have heard a lot of patients say things like; “I don’t know if it was because of the acupuncture or if it was because I was taking the herbs and supplements, or if it was because I’ve been eating healthier, but something seems to have helped.” Ding! Ding! Ding! That’s the million dollar answer. It’s multifactorial. While I may not be a one-stop-shop for all the solutions that will get you better, but I promise you if you are willing to get on track with a program, my services and expertise can make a huge difference in your healing arc.
For those who decide to just get one or two acupuncture treatments, please know that you might not have really given it a fair shot. Just as you wouldn’t expect to go to one or two cross-training classes and then become fit, the same logical thinking applies with trying acupuncture. Just as all fitness practices are different, so too, are acupuncturists and their styles of treatment. Sometimes you just have to shop around to find the right fit for you. Other times, you just have to be patient and put in the work.
If you want a fair assessment of your case I will be happy to give you better dialed in prognosis based on what your information looks like. Feel free to connect via my contact page and start the conversation. I also have an option to schedule a free 15 minute consult. After a couple of visits, my ability to give an accurate prognosis improves based on how you respond. In any case, hopefully this information has already been useful for you.