There may be a slight pinch or mild soreness as the needle passes through the skin. Often however there is little or no feeling due to the extreme fineness of the needles used (e.g. 0.18 mm width).
Various indications that the acupuncture area is activated may occur locally to the needle or at some distance, even at sites not directly connected to the nerve being stimulated.
Some examples are: feelings of warmth, heaviness, numbness, or a brief twinge, ache or electric sensation
If soreness occurs it is brief in duration and most people easily accommodate any brief discomfort that may occasionally arise. There is little comparison between acupuncture and the intense discomfort often associated with some medical procedures. A small number of people can be especially sensitive to this procedure so in their case fewer and finer needles with less stimulation are used.
Acupuncture has an accumulative effect, so generally a minimum of 3 to 6 treatments are needed to initiate and begin to stabilize healing. Further 6 or so treatments may be needed in many cases, depending on how long a problem has been occurring and the overall health of the patient.
For young healthy individuals fewer treatments may be needed, and for those with multiple health issues improvement may take longer.
Generally the extent of the problem, general health and number of tender points in specific areas can be used to determine the projected stability and duration of treatment outcomes.
Treatment frequency usually involves one or two visits a week. For the initial 4 to 6 treatments try to leave no longer than a week between sessions. Some people with chronic pain, autoimmune conditions etc find regular treatments every few weeks of great value to manage symptoms. Some chronic conditions may need booster treatments every few months.
Approximately 50% of people are average responders to acupuncture, 30% are high or super-responders and 20% non-responders. It may take 2 or 3 treatments to determine your particular response rate and pattern, thereby enabling the acupuncturist to tell you what to expect with further treatment.
As outlined above, duration of efficacy depends on the overall health of the person being treated and the healability of their condition. One study showed improvements improvements after a series of acupuncture to last the length of the study - at least 3 years.
Generally if a condition involves many pathological changes seen on medical imaging and the person has several other health conditions acupuncture can be effective for weeks or months until the problem returns in which case a short series of acupuncture can resolve the problem again. If the various healing systems in the body are robust acupuncture is often curative.
Acupuncture may resolve pain and symptoms fully or reduce them to manageable levels.
For those with serious conditions requiring medication acupuncture may improve the effectiveness of certain drugs so that with a physician’s over-site dosage can be reduced, thus minimizing side effects.
Acupuncture treatment usually lasts 10 to 20 minutes, during which time the patient rests on a comfortable treatment table. Many people experience deep relaxation with this technique.
(Also see the How Acupuncture Works page)
Acupuncture works via the nervous system, positively affecting nerve centers in the spine and, as shown by fMRI studies, structures deep within the brain. Complex neuro-hormonal pathways are influenced having pain reducing and other diverse effects. Through research and clinical investigation experts in the field find that acupuncture stimulates the following self-healing effects in the body:
Contemporary scientific research does not support existence of the traditional meridians or much of the traditional explanations of acupuncture. (See Links page.) Nevertheless it does reveal the surprising sophistication of physiological response that acupuncture stimulus induces. This then confirms the practical efficacy of acupuncture and opens the way for scientifically based theories for how it works as well as further advances in its clinical use.