How Many Treatments Will I Need?
How Many Treatments Will I Need?
This is something that is difficult to say with certainty, and Dr. Smith will discuss her recommendations with you at your first visit. In general, it takes longer to treat chronic problems, but acute issues can be resolved more quickly.
Often, people seek acupuncture because other treatment methods have failed to resolve their problems or pains. Under these circumstances, initially coming more frequently can help you resolve the chief problem more quickly. Each treatment builds on the foundation of the one before it: if you are able to build the foundation more quickly, you will heal faster.
As the foundation becomes stronger, you can space the treatments out. Rather than focusing only on the chief problem, Dr. Smith can begin to address the underlying etiologies: the reasons you became sick or injured in the first place.
The goal is that you will eventually only need maintenance of your health instead of restoration to health. Many patients, including Dr. Smith herself, elect to continue receiving acupuncture once a week or once a month simply to tweak their health and stay balanced. As our society is beginning to realize, it is much better to prevent disease than to treat disease after it happens. Acupuncture is particularly adept at keeping the body balanced, thereby preventing disease.