I wrote this email in October 2018 to my Botox / Acupuncture office staff regarding “How many sessions of Acupuncture is necesssary”
Hi Office,
This is one of my most common questions that we get.
How often and how many acupuncture sessions?
How often?
once or twice a week.
How many?
Usually takes 8-12 sessions of acupuncture (once or twice a week) to maximize the treatment results. After that some sort of maintenance needs to be done whether it is different habits like stretching or perhaps acupuncture sessions once a month.
How do I know if acupuncture is worth it?
Dr. Lee has a 4 session test of acupuncture. If there is no improvement at all after 4 sessions of acupuncture, then it is probably not worth it to go to 8-12 sessions of acupuncture.
Thank you for rebooking the patients for acupuncture. For acupuncture to work, it depends on rebooking appointments for our treatments to have lasting effect – I guess that goes for Botox as well.
Take home items from this email:
1. When does the patient come back? As soon as 2 days from now to 2 weeks from now is ok (that sorta is 1-2 times per week – although I prefer in general within 1 week).
2. How many acupuncture sessions does one need? It’s a patient preference, but most will need 8-12 sessions and then after that to change their habits (more sleep, more stretching, more vegetables, less TV, etc).
3. Can a patient stop after 4 sessions of acupuncture? Yes, if they are completely cured of their problem, but most patients use the 4 sessions as a test of worthiness of acupuncture and they usually do 8-12 sessions of acupuncture.
4. How many sessions do I need if I am a new back pain patient? Most likely 8-12 sessions of acupuncture with the sessions about 1-2 times per week. Use the first 4 sessions as a test to see if acupuncture is working.
Like Botox, a disciplined, habitual approach to rescheduling (rebooking) helps more than just one “mega-botox” or “mega-acupuncture” session.
Thanks!