How many treatments are required?

The amount of treatments required varies depending on the conditions treated. Acute conditions may require as few as 1-3 treatments. Chronic conditions may require as many as 5-15 treatments. Treating pain or musculoskeletal conditions often requires 2-3 treatments per week for 1-3 weeks. Internal conditions are often treated once per week.  Because acupuncture has a cumulative effect, acupuncture may be prescribed every 2-4 days to accelerate injury or surgical recovery. For patients interested in prevention, stress management or supportive care, 1-3 treatments per month is recommended.

It is common to associate acupuncture needles with negative experiences of needles used in conventional medicine.  However acupuncture needles are very thin and often described as being “hair like.” The needles used are solid stainless steel and they do not draw any body fluids.  Patients often describe the initial insertion as feeling like “a small pinch” that subsides within several seconds.