Getting the most therapeutic benefit from the least number of treatments

The key to getting the most therapeutic benefit from the least amount of treatments, is knowing the best way to space treatments to maximize therapeutic benefit.

This not only determines the success and outcome of your treatment, but also influences how to get the most benefit out of the financial and time commitment you are making each time you get treated.

The magic in acupuncture lies in the fact that it activates and boosts our body's own healing potential. Our body has this wonderful, built-in system of self-repair and recovery and acupuncture is a key to unlocking that potential and focusing it on the problem.

This process has a clear beginning, middle and an end and unfolds in a distinct progression in which treatments are cumulative and build on each other.

The beginning

When we first start addressing a health problem with acupuncture, it is important to gather enough momentum with treatments so that your body reaches a tipping point, where the healing potential is stronger than the presenting problem. If you wait too long between appointments, your body goes back into the patterns of imbalance that create symptoms and it is difficult to generate enough momentum to tip you into healing and recovery.

That's why, initially, it is important to come in at least once a week (and in some cases twice a week) to mobilize the body's resources.

The middle

Once recovery is sparked, we ride the momentum generated at the beginning of the treatment process until the symptoms are either completely overcome or until we reach a plateau at which point a couple of treatments no longer contribute to lessening of symptoms.

The end

At this point it is good to start spacing treatments further apart, initially treating every other week, and then every 3 - 4 weeks to see if your body can hold on to the gains made and maintain your new level of health. Should there be any back-sliding and symptoms start returning, that means that your body just needs a little more help to maintain its new-found place of health and a few more weekly treatments are called for.

Once you can go for 2, then 3, then 4 weeks without back-sliding, that particular course of treatment can be considered completed. 

Maintenance care?

At this point, you can either begin maintenance/tune-up care which means you would come in every 4-8 weeks to make sure you maintain the gains made during the course of treatment.

Or you can stop treatment until you notice a return of symptoms that don't resolve themselves within 3-4 days. Occasionally you might have a day on which you notice old symptoms but if your body’s healing resources are still strong, it regulates itself and the problem disappears. If it doesn't resolve itself within 3-4 days, that means your body needs another little boost to get the problem back under control, something that can usually be achieved with 2-3 weekly treatments.  

Getting the most out of the least

In closing, to get the most benefit from the least number of treatments, avoid some of the common pitfalls along the way:

• If treatments are spaced too far apart initially, we cannot spark enough momentum to carry us towards the tipping point of improvement.

• When the treatment process is stopped too soon, we cannot ride and accelerate momentum towards fully turning the problem around.

• When we stop before the end is reached, we don't solidify the gains made during the course of treatment and the problem is more likely to return.

I look forward to beginning this journey of healing and wellness with you and answering any questions you may have.