Does Acupuncture Really Work? If So, I'd Like a Miracle Point for Pain-Free Living Please

Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine (herbs) are powerful and can help many complex conditions. However, it's important to keep in mind that even though people often show improvement right away, it takes time (sometimes a lot of time) to fix (for lack a better term) complex, long-term conditions and those seeking treatment really need to commit to a full year of treatment. What! A year? I know, it sounds like a very long time, but think about it this way... if you're 40 and you've been feeling less than great for a lot of years, a one year journey to getting back to good suddenly doesn't seem like that long.

I'm not saying it'll take a year to see results. Nope. Results are usually seen within a few sessions. It's getting those results to stick long-term by making the body healthy that takes the time. It takes a lot of years to really mess up our systems, so a year fixing it seems pretty reasonable.

One frustration as a provider is that patients often start to show quick and promising results, but are resistant to making the lifestyle changes necessary to maintain those results once treatment is concluded.

Examples would be fibromyalgia and autoimmune disorders, which are easily affected by diet. Certain foods often trigger inflammation which can lead to widespread inflammation, joint aches and pains, flare ups in digestive problems and even migraines. Acupuncture and herbs can help alleviate the symptoms and even restore balance to the body, reduce pain and inflammation, help with sleep, hormones and more, but if a person is unable or unwilling to make healthy changes and form new habits, they will end up right where they started.

My favorite analogy is this:

If a person is in a sinking boat and I'm trying to help them get to the other side, it's very difficult if they are putting one cup of water in for every two I'm bailing out. At most I can just keep them afloat in the middle, preventing them from sinking but never making it to the other side. Not ideal, right?

The point I'm trying to make is that acupuncture/herbs can help (a lot), they can even restore a person back to good health; however, most can't afford to get treated regularly indefinitely and without making those changes wellness will end up being a lot like one of those yo-yo diets.

Acupuncture and herbs are powerful tools for healing and I've seem some miracles happen, but I rarely see anyone maintain long-term results for chronic illness if they weren't wiling to take better care of themselves. Those whom do make those changes change their lives and never look back.

Happy healing!