“How long does it take for acupuncture to work for pain?”
I am a 38 year old male. I want to know how long does it take for acupuncture to work on pain?
22 Answers
AcupuncturistAcupuncturist
Instantly
IT REALLY VARIES. IT CAN BE ONE TREATMENT THAT GETS YOU OUT OF PAIN AND GOOD FOR LIFE, OR YEARS WITH REGULAR TREATMENT.
Thank you for your question.
All treatments are patient and condition specific. Therefore, there’s no set the dosing for acupuncture. Like a medication, or physical therapy, etc., you may need intensive treatment for a short period, or a long period. You may need treatment for a lifetime. Again, patient and condition specific.
Be Well,
Dr. B
All treatments are patient and condition specific. Therefore, there’s no set the dosing for acupuncture. Like a medication, or physical therapy, etc., you may need intensive treatment for a short period, or a long period. You may need treatment for a lifetime. Again, patient and condition specific.
Be Well,
Dr. B
Depending on the cause, duration, frequency, type, and location of your pain, the length of time for any therapy, including acupuncture, to quell your pain is variable. Some pain can be helped quickly, some requires a longer course of treatment. Your licensed acupuncturist will make a differential diagnosis, based on the traditional Asian medical model and determine the
best treatment for you.
best treatment for you.
It really depends on your particular situation. Usually there will be some relief after the first 1-3 treatments and you and your practitioner will have a better idea of the time frame at that point. This is also a question to ask in the consultation before your first treatment as the practice's knowing your history and doing some physical exam will allow them to make a
more accurate guess.
Have a good day!
more accurate guess.
Have a good day!
In most instances, true acupuncture should start working within seconds for pain. Once the needles are in, pain should be reduced within a few breaths. This is not the case with dry needling or with those who are not familiar with the old fashioned family style acupuncture.
It depends on the situation. Could work immediately or not work at all. Usually its somewhere inbetween but totally depends on the situation.
Good afternoon,
Most of the pain takes approximately 3-5 treatments, but it all depends on the type of pain and the cause. Please talk to your acupuncturist.
David
Most of the pain takes approximately 3-5 treatments, but it all depends on the type of pain and the cause. Please talk to your acupuncturist.
David
Should feel at least a little better after first session
Patients feel pain reduced and muscles relaxed after first time acupuncture treatment by my practice acupuncture. Some patients only need one treatment and pain goes away. Some of them need many times that depending on how long you have had the pain.
Results from acupuncture regarding pain can vary from person, as well as even from each practitioner’s skill level and energetic component. Typically, my patients are blessed to feel relief immediately about 91% of the time. Sometimes, more chronic cases can take more time and consistency of care.
Everyone is different. Sometimes people will get off the table after the first treatment and get some relief, though it usually doesn't last long, and some folks take several treatments before they feel results.
30 mins
This depends on what is causing the pain, each individual person (their state of health, age, lifestyle, etc.), what other therapies they have tried and are doing, and how long they have been having pain. Some people feel immediate relief, at least for a few hours up to a day or so, after the first treatment. Other people may not feel a change until the third or fourth treatment.
Mr. Anthony James Lorenzo
Acupuncturist
It is really hard to answer this question not knowing where the pain is, why it started and your health history, and what your current best diagnosis is. But for pain acupuncture helps with and can effectively treat, it usually helps in 1-10 treatments with sometimes rapid and sometimes slow reduction/progress.
This depends on the type of pain you are experiencing. Also everyone's body is different in how quickly the respond to treatment. We recommend at least 6 sessions because some people see progress after the first, and some people it takes a couple.
Acute pain needs less treatment. Chronic pain needs more treatment. Young patients respond faster. Old folks respond slower. We usually recommend 6 sessions to start it. Acute pain can be resolved within 1-4 visits.
It depends on how long you have been suffering, and what caused the pain in the first place. Every body is different. But, most people feel a difference with the first appointment.
That depends on how long you have had the pain, why you have it, and your compliance with your practitioner's treatment plan.
Generally speaking, the longer a condition has been in existence, the longer it will take to resolve. If you haven't felt some changes or improvements throughout your body within 5-8 treatments, however, I recommend tyring another practitioner or another style of acupuncture.
Generally speaking, the longer a condition has been in existence, the longer it will take to resolve. If you haven't felt some changes or improvements throughout your body within 5-8 treatments, however, I recommend tyring another practitioner or another style of acupuncture.
Depends on acute or chronic pain, take longer for treating chronic conditions
It just takes a short time, 5 to 6 times.
The "how many treatments" question is one I get a lot. It's very difficult to answer for several reasons:
1. The Chinese diagnostic system takes in to account individual factors in presentation. Three people could walk in to my clinic with pain in the same or similar locations but, from the perspective of Chinese medicine, all three could be experiencing the issue for different reasons. Those different root causes will have different treatments. Some root causes respond faster to treatment than others and some people respond faster to treatment than others.
2. Even in the conventional medical system, there are a variety of reasons why a patient might experience pain. There are also a variety of pains: from neurologic to more structural problems like osteoarthritis. Knowing what is causing a particular patient to experience pain is half-way to understanding how to resolve the pain.
3. There are a variety of different systems of acupuncture. Some of these systems are better for dealing with certain kinds of issues relative to other systems. Without knowing what kind of acupuncture your provider practices, it's hard to know whether or not there's a good fit between that system of acupuncture and your issue.
4. As in conventional medicine, some practitioners are just better with certain kinds of issues relative to other practitioners. There's an add-on here specific to acupuncture: depending on where you're located, there could be providers who offer "acupuncture" without having attended school for Chinese medicine or actually being licensed or board certified as an acupuncturist. Without knowing whether or not you're seeing a board certified and state licensed acupuncturist and what that person's track record is with issues like pain it is, again, difficult to predict what a course of therapy might look like.
I work mainly in pain management and my sweet spot for most pain issues tends to be around 4 or 5 treatments. if you're seeing someone who doesn't work much with pain (or isn't a board certified acupuncturist), you could be looking at more like 8-10 treatments.
1. The Chinese diagnostic system takes in to account individual factors in presentation. Three people could walk in to my clinic with pain in the same or similar locations but, from the perspective of Chinese medicine, all three could be experiencing the issue for different reasons. Those different root causes will have different treatments. Some root causes respond faster to treatment than others and some people respond faster to treatment than others.
2. Even in the conventional medical system, there are a variety of reasons why a patient might experience pain. There are also a variety of pains: from neurologic to more structural problems like osteoarthritis. Knowing what is causing a particular patient to experience pain is half-way to understanding how to resolve the pain.
3. There are a variety of different systems of acupuncture. Some of these systems are better for dealing with certain kinds of issues relative to other systems. Without knowing what kind of acupuncture your provider practices, it's hard to know whether or not there's a good fit between that system of acupuncture and your issue.
4. As in conventional medicine, some practitioners are just better with certain kinds of issues relative to other practitioners. There's an add-on here specific to acupuncture: depending on where you're located, there could be providers who offer "acupuncture" without having attended school for Chinese medicine or actually being licensed or board certified as an acupuncturist. Without knowing whether or not you're seeing a board certified and state licensed acupuncturist and what that person's track record is with issues like pain it is, again, difficult to predict what a course of therapy might look like.
I work mainly in pain management and my sweet spot for most pain issues tends to be around 4 or 5 treatments. if you're seeing someone who doesn't work much with pain (or isn't a board certified acupuncturist), you could be looking at more like 8-10 treatments.
