“How quickly does acupuncture work?”
I am a 24 year old male. I will have an acupuncture treatment for my neck pain. How quickly does acupuncture work?
22 Answers
Instant result!
If the doctor has good skill, in just seconds you can feel the difference.
You should feel some degree of relief after the first, but it would be best gauged after an in-person assessment.
Everyone is different. However, most of my patients see results right after the first treatment.
It really depends on each person as each case is very unique. If your neck pain is an acute issue then it will most likely be treated quickly. However, if it is chronic , most of the times here are many layers to the pain. Meaning, it could be due to many causes such as posture, stress (or any emotional issue), previous unhealed injury, etc. The key is to figure out any lifestyle factors that may be contributing to it and find a way to get rid of it! At least that’s what I do in my practice!
It works amazingly! I highly suggest you give it a try. Clinically we use acupuncture often to help others experiencing neck pain and have great results. The amount of times you would need to come in is dependent on the nature of the pain, diagnosis and a detailed intake of your health and history, however, most people have some form of pain reduction within one
treatment.
I hope you give it a try!
Warmly,
Dr. Mitchell
treatment.
I hope you give it a try!
Warmly,
Dr. Mitchell
How quickly you experience lasting relief from your neck pain depends on many factors including what's at the root of your neck pain, how long you've had the pain, what types of self-care practices you employ as well as the acupuncture methods your acupuncturist uses. Some acupuncturists who use the balance method can help you get relief in the first session, but it will take repeat treatments to repattern the body and brain for long-term pain relief. How many sessions depends on you and the nature of your pain.
Neck pain can be acute like waking up with a stiff neck or chronic like an old neck injury. Each complaint has a different response to treatment, usually acute diseases are easier to treat and respond better than chronic.
Every condition is different and therefore the pain relief depends on the severity of the cause. Neck pain could be due to stress, muscle tightness or cervical spine disorders to name a few. In average, and depending on the condition you can have neck pain relief from acupuncture immediately or between 3 to 10 treatments
Every patient responds differently to Acupuncture. Some can have an immediate relief, next day relief, relief after a few treatments and in some cases, pain can get worse before it gets better. Let's do a few treatments to see how your body responds.
Yours in health,
Angie
Yours in health,
Angie
The answer depends on the nature of the pain. If it is a recent muscle pull or trauma of some sort that is not severe, a treatment or 2 may resolve it. A more severe injury could take weeks, and very old or deep issues may take months. That question is best answered when the full details of your situation are fully known.
Dr. Dave
Dr. Dave
Hello and thank you for your question! You should see some immediate relief post treatment. However, this also depends on how long you have been experiencing the neck pain and how severe the pain is. You may need to have a few treatments to experience full resolution of pain.
All depends on the problem and how long you have had the problem. Each case is a different case. "One treatment doesn't fit all."
Quickly
Sometimes instantaneously
For simple neck pain, most patients have relief during the first visit. If the neck pain is more complicated, the results may take longer. You will be given more specific information at your first visit.
Instantly or delay (after two visits).
That depends on many factors such as the condition itself, how long it has been in existence, and your compliance with your practitioner's protocols. Generally speaking, the longer a condition has been in existence, the longer it will take to resolve. Be patient with your practitioner and with your body. That being said, if you're not feeling any changes after 5-8 treatments, you may want to consider a new practitioner or a different style of acupuncture.
Sometimes it works as soon as the needle is put in, sometimes it takes a bit of manipulation of the needle, sometimes it takes the whole session, sometimes it takes a series of sessions. There is no single answer to your question because it is based on an individual response and to which condition is actually being treated.
This depends on your current heath levels, age, sex, and how your body responses to acupuncture. Typically 1 to 3 months.
Insert needles about 10 minutes and leave the needles on the locations of the body about 30 minutes.
How quickly you experience results from acupuncture is going to be dependent on a large number of variables. These include things like:
1. How severe is the pain?
2. How long have you been experiencing the pain?
3. What caused the pain?
4. Can you be very specific about where you feel the pain?
5. How good is your provider in working with pain conditions?
Pain management is my specialty, and it's unusual for my patients not to experience some relief or reduction at the very first treatment. Not everyone specializes in pain, and not all patients experience relief at treatment #1. My general rule of thumb is: you should be experiencing some reduction in pain by the 3rd treatment.
Another thing to keep in mind is that sometimes we get 'spikey' behavior as we work through the underlying issue(s). While we'd prefer to have a smooth reduction in pain over time where each treatment extends the pain relief from the prior treatment until we hit zero pain or an "I can live with this" level. Sometimes the pain score will bounce around a bit before settling in to some lower level.
For the best results, please make sure you're at least seeing someone who is licensed as an acupuncturist in your state. Better if you see a licensed acupuncturist who specializes in pain management. If you're not in CA, you can use NCCAOM.org's "Find a Practitioner" lookup to get providers in your area.
1. How severe is the pain?
2. How long have you been experiencing the pain?
3. What caused the pain?
4. Can you be very specific about where you feel the pain?
5. How good is your provider in working with pain conditions?
Pain management is my specialty, and it's unusual for my patients not to experience some relief or reduction at the very first treatment. Not everyone specializes in pain, and not all patients experience relief at treatment #1. My general rule of thumb is: you should be experiencing some reduction in pain by the 3rd treatment.
Another thing to keep in mind is that sometimes we get 'spikey' behavior as we work through the underlying issue(s). While we'd prefer to have a smooth reduction in pain over time where each treatment extends the pain relief from the prior treatment until we hit zero pain or an "I can live with this" level. Sometimes the pain score will bounce around a bit before settling in to some lower level.
For the best results, please make sure you're at least seeing someone who is licensed as an acupuncturist in your state. Better if you see a licensed acupuncturist who specializes in pain management. If you're not in CA, you can use NCCAOM.org's "Find a Practitioner" lookup to get providers in your area.
