“How often should I get acupuncture for migraines?”

As often as symptoms occur

Twice per week for several weeks, your migraine headache can be cured or completely reduced for many years.

I start out with twice a week. Once the migraines stop and don't come back between treatments, I spread it out to once a week, then once every other week, and so on until we find the time spread that works.

As often as you like to be free of them.

I suggest 14 treatments and use herbs

How often should you get acupuncture for migraines? That depends on how long you have had them and how severe they are as well as what your underlying TCM (Traditional Chinese medicine) pattern you have. It can vary from person to person. The more often you have acupuncture the better your results because the effects of the acupuncture treatment are cumulative. But, it may not be cost affordable(?)

The general rule of thumb is to allow one course of treatment (which is 12 visits) for every year that the condition has existed. But, I have seen much faster results in my clinical experience.

The acupuncture treatment plan can vary depending on the frequency and severity of the migraines as well as the needs of the body for example if there is a lot of deficiency or depending on what you are doing that may be contributing to increasing muscle tension in your neck &/or upper back.

If you look at the 3 phases of care: Relief care, Corrective care, and Maintenance care. You may have to come 1, 2 or 3 times a week during the Relief care phase, and then you can taper down less frequently during the corrective care phase maybe 1 time a week or every other week once symptoms of migraine have subsided. Then get treated periodically perhaps once a month or 5 or 6 times a year usually 1 or 2 weeks before seasonal changes. This helps the acupuncturist to catch disease before it manifests by heading it off at the pass. "An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure".

I get great results with my migraine patients using acupuncture and herbal medicine. Usually the patient comes 1 or 2 times per week for 3-6 weeks and then 1-2 times per month for 3-6 months. Once the migraine episodes have subsided then they can come less frequently. I have some patients that have been migraine free for years that keep coming for maintenance. Acupuncture is also great for stress reduction.

The most common causes of migraine that I see are neck &/or upper back tightness or pain. And, often I see a tongue without any tongue coating and usually with a crack down the middle, as well as dark distended veins under their tongue. In TCM this diagnosis is called Kidney yin deficiency with Liver blood stagnation.

I hope this is helpful!

Hi,

I usually tell my clients once a week for a few weeks. Some acupuncturists ask their clients to come more than once a week.

Hope this helps,

Jonathan Fang

Most patients, depending on availability, will come in 2-3x per week until major symptoms reduce, then we reduce to weekly or every other week as needed.

In health,

Dr. Sara Florida

Try once first, then discuss with your acupuncturist if it works.

Each treatment frequency is dependent on the person’s health level, response to treatment, and practitioner’s treatment level. So, different variables equal different results. With migraines, it seems at least once a week until they diminish. My patients' migraines I’m blessed to see them have relief usually after the first session, but see them again a week later to ensure the results stick. After a bit, you should soon be able to reduce treatment needs gradually.
All the best for your health and success.

Weekly for the first six weeks, simply because acupuncture has accumulative effects.

Depends on the etiology and the type of Migraine. If chronic daily cluster - then M, W and Friday or for three to four weeks would bring you back into Balance. Three patients I am seeing now are once a month - PRN for maintenance care now. Less Rx med's now which had been very helpful though they were no longer effective so their PCPs suggested working w me. Always love seeing great result which is 90% of the time.

It depends on how long you have been suffering with migraines and what style of acupuncture your acupuncturist practices. Generally speaking, chronic conditions (anything lasting longer than 3 months) would be treated on a weekly basis. If they have been occurring for fewer than 3 months, you may receive treatments 2-3 times per week.

Hello! Depends on how acute/chronic your migraines are. Typically from a few weeks to six months.

I treated a migraines patient only one time, then his migraines totally went away, which he had had for over 50 years. But after it goes away, you still need 2 or 3 treatments to consolidate the effect.

It will be determined by the acupuncturist you see

No one can answer that question on an individual basis. There can be dramatic changes on the first treatment, there may be slight changes for another person. There may be a change in results that return due to life style choices or there may be dramatic changes that last for a lifetime.

You would need to consult with your practitioner on an ongoing basis to see how you, personally respond to your individual condition.

Hello and thank you for your question! The frequency of treatment is based on severity of symptoms as well as chronicity. Generally, I like to see migraine patients once a week, and then taper off treatments as the patient's condition improves.

Hi, acupuncture can really help migraines and you should defiantly try it because of how effective it is. In my experience you can see results in 1-3 treatments depending on the exact cause. Try acupuncture 1-2x per week for 2 weeks.

I always recommend acupuncture 3 times a week, in severe cases even more frequently. But every case is different.

The question of how often you should receive acupuncture for a pain condition like migraine is directly tied to how severe or frequent your headaches are.

For patients with severe pain or frequent headache (headaches 3 or more times per week), I like to start with 2-3 visits per week. Generally we only have to do this for a week or maybe two and then the pain and/or frequency comes down enough that we can go to weekly treatments.

We might stay at weekly for another 2-3 weeks and then we'll start spreading things out to find the appropriate maintenance interval for that person.

If your headaches aren't that severe or frequent, you can probably start with weekly treatments. Expect to receive at least 3 treatments, on a weekly basis, before you start noticing changes.