How Often Do You Need to Go in for Acupuncture Treatments?

Acupuncture works by targeting patients’ needs which are identified within a developed, unique plan of treatment. Specifically, an acupuncturist will construct a specific plan by analyzing the symptoms of the treatment-seeking individual. Through this plan, an acupuncturist can determine the frequency of your acupuncture treatments.

Regardless of whether the reason to seek acupuncture treatments is acute or chronic pain, allergies, stress, or another ailment, no one person will receive the same treatment or frequency of appointments.

How is frequency determined?

Although acupuncture treatments tend to favor patient visitation at a 5-6-week schedule, there are quite a few factors that can determine the need for a shorter, more frequent schedule, or a longer time between acupuncture appointments.

First, in order to precisely determine how often a patient should utilize acupuncture treatments, an acupuncturist will look at the factors that will describe why the patient sought treatment in the first place.

These factors include:

• What types of symptoms is the patient experiencing?
• How long has the patient had the notable symptoms?
• What is the severity of the symptoms (i.e.: pain level, duration)?
• Do the symptoms correlate with an illness or ailment that has been diagnosed?
• Acupuncture history
• Is the patient new to acupuncture?
• Has the patient previously received treatments? If so, how recently?
• How frequently did the patient receive prior treatment?
• Medical history
• Does the patient currently suffer from long-term illness or ailments? If so, are the illnesses in remission, or is the patient currently experiencing a flare-up?
• Has the patient previously sought treatment of any kind for the illness or ailment?

Preparing for Your Acupuncture Treatment Can Help Determine Frequency of Visits

When making your acupuncture appointment, whether it be your very first time or your first time in a while, you will want to ensure you are prepared for the visit. In order to better enable your acupuncturist to determine a proper treatment plan for your condition(s), you should be as open as possible about your symptoms, acupuncture, and medical history. 

For example, a great way to do this is to write down the symptoms you are experiencing, when the symptoms started, and what you know about the history of your condition.

Then, after discussing the reasons for your visit, an acupuncturist can properly place you into an adequate level of care. During your visits, your acupuncturist will focus on three levels of care.

These levels include:

• Acute Care
• Transitional Care
• Maintenance Care

Each level of care establishes a suggested timetable for the frequency of your future acupuncture appointments. Finally, after determining a specific level of care based on the presenting factors and/or requests of the patient, an acupuncture specialist will develop a treatment plan that is unique to each patient that visits their office.

So, whether you're exploring options for your first acupuncture appointment or you're considering resuming your acupuncture journey, don't hesitate to reach out to our office!