Generally speaking, issues that are more recent respond faster than long-term chronic problems.
For example, if your knee started hurting in the last few weeks, or if you generally have good digestion but recently you started having some heart burn and coughing, then you are likely to see some quick results from acupuncture. Conversely, if you have been dealing with back pain for a couple decades or more, if your migraines have been bothering you for many years, or if there is a long history of menstrual irregularities, then it’s going to take more time to see results and the course of treatment will be longer.
The latest research has shown that 6 to 12 acupuncture sessions in 6 weeks is needed to get the most and longest-lasting benefits. Again, this is very general and does not account for individual situation. However, it gives us an idea.
As with any medical interventions, you need to give it some time to see how it will work for you. A fair trial is 4-6 treatments. By then, you and your acupuncturist will both know if it is helpful for you and in what way it has been helpful. From there, we will have enough data point to decide your course of action to see if more treatments are needed and what the frequency of treatments needed to be. Again, acute issues often resolve quickly. Expect chronic issues to require months and some kind of ongoing care.
