“How long does it take for acupuncture to work for back pain?”
I have back pain and want to have an acupuncture treatment. How long does it take for acupuncture to work for back pain?
13 Answers
AcupuncturistAcupuncture
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If your back pain is chronic, you will need multiple sessions per week for a period of time. Then you can decrease sessions to once a week once it is under control. You need a private consultation to discuss your pain issue.
it depends on what is going on and other factors. Anywhere from 1 -15 treatments and sometimes more
This is an interesting question. Acupuncture has many proponents, particularly among Eastern Medicine experts. However, there is no scientific evidence that is clear and unequivocal which is in favor of the use of acupuncture as a definitive treatment for low back pain. I suggest that you seek out the services of a back specialist (interventional pain doctor; neurologist; neurosurgeon; physiatrist) if your back pain has been persistent for more than three months or if there are "red flag" signs. These include persistent numbness or weakness in the legs; pain with activity; nighttime pain; bladder or bowel changes in habits; or loss of reflexes. Good luck!
I would suggest an honest assessment is 6-8 treatments. And to try 3 different acupuncturists is the first one practitioner does not work.
2 weeks.
Every patient is different depending on severity and how long you’ve had the pain , but most patients feel some type of relief within 3-5 treatments
Acupuncture is a good additional treatment to most pain issues. It is not always effective alone and usually provides immediate temporary relief.
It depends on the condition and how long you have had it, but you should feel some relief after the first appointment.
Usually very fast (3-5) sessions, but we always recommend 12 sessions per course of treatment to take care of each of the 12 meridians.
Read more here: https://philaacupuncture.com/acupuncture-treatment/
Read more here: https://philaacupuncture.com/acupuncture-treatment/
It takes two weeks for acupuncture to work for back pain.
Everyone is different. Sometimes people get up off the table after their first treatment and feel better and others take longer. To really fix the issue, I find it takes several treatments coming in twice a week. Every practitioner and patient is different.
The "how long" question is one I see a lot. The problem is there are a lot of variables that go in to formulating a reasonable answer and I don't have all the pieces to that puzzle. Here's my best answer:
Acupuncture is rarely a one-and-done type of therapy. Generally speaking, patients are looking at a recurring series of treatments. I specialize in pain management, and I tell new patients that it might be 3-4 treatments before the pain starts to go down. It might be 10-12 treatments before the pain comes fully under control. The pain may increase a little bit before it goes down. Sometimes the pain may move around before it goes down. In other words the line from A to B is often not a smooth curve of ever decreasing pain, and patients need to be prepared for that potential experience.
The other thing that both providers and prospective patients should keep in mind is: there is about 5% of the population who won't respond to acupuncture. We don't know why this is and we have no way to predict in advance whether or not any given individual is in that 5% group. If patients aren't seeing any changes by treatment 4 or 5, it's a strong possibility they're in that 5%. At that point, continuing acupuncture is mostly a waste of time and money.
Acupuncture is rarely a one-and-done type of therapy. Generally speaking, patients are looking at a recurring series of treatments. I specialize in pain management, and I tell new patients that it might be 3-4 treatments before the pain starts to go down. It might be 10-12 treatments before the pain comes fully under control. The pain may increase a little bit before it goes down. Sometimes the pain may move around before it goes down. In other words the line from A to B is often not a smooth curve of ever decreasing pain, and patients need to be prepared for that potential experience.
The other thing that both providers and prospective patients should keep in mind is: there is about 5% of the population who won't respond to acupuncture. We don't know why this is and we have no way to predict in advance whether or not any given individual is in that 5% group. If patients aren't seeing any changes by treatment 4 or 5, it's a strong possibility they're in that 5%. At that point, continuing acupuncture is mostly a waste of time and money.
