Blog Archives

Treatment Frequency

1/25/2016

"How many treatments will I need?"
This question comes up again and again when speaking with patients, no matter how much experience they do or do not have with Oriental Medicine. It is understandable that folks would like to know exactly what they are in for, considering that free time and finances can be scarce. Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine are not magic bullets, as some other forms of medicine claim to be. There are no secret formulas or acupuncture points for your illness. Some dedication is required at first, but the effects of treatment are often more long lasting, and of a superior quality, when compared to other forms of medicine because a deep constitutional change will have taken place. Generally speaking, most chronic or recurring conditions will require a longer series of treatment than those that are acute in nature.

While it is absolutely true that each person's condition is unique, and will therefore require a unique treatment strategy and treatment plan,there is a certain level of commitment that all patients will be asked to follow to the best of their ability. In this blog I will attempt to describe this process as best that I can. I will discuss the necessary treatment frequency for all patients, especially ones that are new or that are looking for relief from a specific condition; and the stages of care, which is adapted from a chiropractic model. I will be borrowing concepts from this article in order to supplement my own thoughts.

The industry standard, so to speak, that the vast majority of us are taught in Oriental Medicine school, is a treatment frequency of once per week. This is what virtually all practitioners in the U.S. suggest to their patients. There are a whole host of reasons for this, with the most obvious and troublesome being the overall public image of Chinese Medicine in this country. Oriental Medicine, which includes acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, etc., is often referred to as "complementary" or "alternative" medicine, which suggests that it is to be used alongside of (oftentimes at a very minimal frequency) conventional Western medicine, or even as a last resort when nothing else seems to be helping a person's condition. I could speak on this topic more, but that is not the focus of this blog. However, it should be noted that once weekly acupuncture sessions do in fact work for a lot of people. In fact, I've known patients who only come in once per month in order to maintain their level of well-being. This is not the norm though, and these patients have often been getting acupuncture treatments and/or taking herbal formulas for many years. Most patients will experience positive changes after any treatment, but when done only once weekly, and especially with chronic conditions, the relief may only last one or two days. When starting a course of treatment, especially for chronic conditions, it is unusual (but not impossible) for a single session to offer complete healing. This is a functional medicine, designed to help your body and mind rediscover a more efficient and harmonious way of operating. Asking the body-mind to reorganize itself in the direction towards healing, and to get it to move in that direction regularly and on its own, requires consistent and frequent treatments at first. There are way too many variables involved in the perpetuation of one's condition for a single treatment to heal the person 100%. These variables include, but are not limited to: emotional health; job-related factors, including physical and mental stress; dietary choices; etc.

Things are done a bit differently in China. There, acupuncture is administered daily for 5-10 days in a row, followed by a break of two or three days, and then another course of daily treatment for 5-10 more days. Acupuncture is only given once per week as a follow up to these more concentrated and successful courses of treatment. Now, most U.S. patients may think that is excessive and not possible, but please consider the following:

How often do you take your multivitamin for maximum benefit? Daily, or once per week?
In order to get in shape and maintain your progress, do you work out 20-30 minutes at least five days per week, or 20-30 minutes a few times per month?
How often would you like to get a good night's sleep? Once per week, or every night?
How often should we eat healthy in order to take care of ourselves? Daily, or once in a while?

On average, patients will see some improvement in their condition after five or six weekly treatments. This does not mean that all symptoms will be gone completely, but they will be less severe, you will have more good days than bad, and whenever bad days do creep up they will be managed from a clearer perspective. With daily (or as often as possible at first) treatment, the practitioner can more effectively and efficiently decide upon a treatment strategy suitable to the patient's current state, making only slight adjustments to the last treatment. Also, patients are better able to recall any differences they've noticed since the last session, which may be subtle.

Now, let's discuss how to set up a treatment plan. Rather than asking patients to come in once daily for seven days straight (on average), with breaks in between, and therefore seeing them 10-20 times in less than one month, I suggest the following treatment plan to all of my patients who are just getting started:

Corrective care stage: Treatments are done at least two to three times per week for at least six to eight weeks. This starts the process of addressing the underlying patterns of disharmony responsible for ones condition, and begins to offer symptomatic relief.
Convalescent stage: After the initial six to eight weeks of treatment mentioned above, the patient may then start receiving treatment one to two times per week for at least four to six weeks. This is done in order to maintain symptomatic relief, to resolve any other patterns of disharmony that may have been obscured before, and to prevent any future problems. If, after the initial six to eight weeks have passed, the patient's condition has not improved considerably, the practitioner may suggest that they maintain a treatment frequency of two to three times per week for another month, or until it is otherwise okay to proceed into the convalescent stage.
Maintenance stage: Here, treatments can be done once or twice per month, or even once or twice per season (four times per year) in order to maintain the progress that has been made, and to support ones overall well-being throughout the year.

Each case is unique and will require a treatment plan that is suitable to the patient's particular health issues, availability, and means. Since all treatments at Great Nature Oriental Medicine consist of both acupuncture and herbal medicine, your particular treatment schedule may differ slightly from what is outlined above. Herbal formulas are often given for one or two weeks at a time before a reassessment occurs. However, you will likely still need to receive acupuncture treatments as often as possible at first. Ultimately, consistency is the most important point to keep in mind.

It is important to remember that during each treatment your acupuncturist is giving you the best of their medicine that they can, but this is only one half of the healing relationship. The patient has a responsibility to engage their mind and to make the decision to meet their practitioner half way. This means being flexible and compliant with regards to dietary, lifestyle, exercise, or other recommendations that may be given.

I hope this information has been helpful to you in some way. Please contact me for more information by calling (618) 694-5189.

0 Comments

Treatment Frequency

Updated Business Hours

Acupuncture Happy Hour

Archives