When starting out with acupuncture, it's natural to wonder "how long will acupuncture take to work" and "how often do you need to come for treatments".
While there is no one size fits all answer, this post will give you a guideline for the frequency of acupuncture treatments and how that changes depending on what phase of treatment you may be in.
RELIEF PHASE
This phase of acupuncture treatment is all about getting relief from intense and/or frequent symptoms. If you're in constant pain, suffering with daily symptoms that aren't going away, or have an acute injury or illness, this is typically where we'll start.
Treatments are closer together (2-3 times per week or more) to build up the accumulative effect of acupuncture relatively quickly.
In most cases, if the acupuncture is working for you, things will stabilise within weeks of beginning treatment and we can move into the next phase. Severe cases or circumstances may require us to maintain higher frequency for longer.
HEALING PHASE
This is time for us to work on supporting your body's ability to heal, repair and self-correct. The body can get trapped and held in illness configurations. Our job is to identify the underlying imbalances maintaining that internal environment and work towards restoring a healthier body ecology.
Treatment frequency can vary from twice weekly, to fortnightly.
This phase is the most variable as some mild conditions only need a few weeks to months of treatment before no longer requiring treatment, but more chronic and severe conditions may take years to change substantially.
Throughout, it is important to check in with your progress and make sure treatment is adjusted as needed.
MAINTENANCE PHASE
Many people who have gone through either of the previous phases like to keep acupuncture as part of their regular self-care. This can help with prevention and maintaining the improvements already gained.
Athletes and high performers may also like to incorporate acupuncture for their recovery and to support performance optimisation.
It can also be for chronic cases that will need ongoing management of symptoms.
Frequency will depend on the person and their goals. Usually anywhere between weekly to monthly, or just as needed.
This would be ongoing, for as long as the person finds value in the treatments.
It's important your acupuncturist has a plan and process for you to go through. During the course of treatment there should also be certain markers and signs that you can both track to tell you whether or not acupuncture is working for you, as well as when to adjust treatment.
If you would like to explore what acupuncture could help you with in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, consider Acupuncture Grove in Bondi Sydney. Servicing areas such as Bondi Junction, Bondi Beach, Coogee, Clovelly, Bronte, Waverly, Randwick, Maroubra, Double Bay, Watson's Bay, Vaucluse and surrounding Sydney suburbs. You can book online here or reach out with any questions here.
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