Wait! What? Often times either in my office, or socially, people will say to me: I tried acupuncture and it didn't work. When I press a little further for details, I almost always reach the same conclusion; the person only went once and/or decided the course of their treatment instead of what was prescribed to them by their acupuncturist. In a recent blog, How often, and for how long, do I need to get acupuncture treatments? I talk about the general guidelines for a course of treatment.
I am also very careful to let patients know at the onset of their treatments that acupuncture is not a 'one and done' approach. I would also say that it isn't a 'magic bullet', although for some people, it actually is! I wish that were the case for everyone, but for most adults a course of treatment needs to be followed.
With a typical course of treatment, you may or may not see an improvement in your chief health complaint - what finally got so bad that you sought acupuncture in the first place - right away. If not, typically people will notice changes in other aspects of their health. Let's say that someone comes in for constipation, but they also have trouble sleeping, lower back pain and anxiety. After three treatments, they may come in saying that they are calmer and have been sleeping better on some nights. They also report that their lower back pain is less intense and less frequent, but the constipation hasn't budged (pardon the pun!).
This information tells me that we are on the correct path of treatment and that your body decides how, and in what order, your health complaints clear up. Patients should be observant of how they feel in between acupuncture sessions, and forthcoming with the changes that they notice. At times, a patient may come in and say that absolutely nothing has changed, but when I review their symptoms and press for details, they are actually improving, but can be (oddly enough) reluctant to admit it.
Even though I let people know the recommended frequency of treatments (typically weekly initially) and the length of those initial treatments (typically 2-3 months), they make thier own decisions about how often and for how long they will continue treatment. I know everyone wants a guarantee... and acupuncture helps most people with most conditions most of the time IF you are willing to stay the course. Clinically, I would say I have about a 95% success rate for people who follow the recommneded guidelines.
What if you are following exactly the course of treatment and there are no results at all? Meaning that you can honestly say that absolutely nothing about your health has changed since you started treatment. And, that you are not saying: I feel better for a day or two and then it comes back. And you are also not saying that other complaints are improving (these are markers that we are on the right track). It is at that point that I let a patient know that I have tried all of the tools in my toolbox and for some reason (there are still some mysteries in the universe) it isn't working.
So when people say that they tried acupuncture and it didn't work, I can't help but wonder if they followed the course of treatment that their acupuncturist recommended to them based on their three - four years and thousands of hours of schooling, along with their clinical observations. Or, if perhaps they had it performed by someone who did not actually recieve a Master's Degree in acupuncture such as a physical therapist, chiropractor or even an MD who may be able to practice without this thorough training and/or are practicing illegally. 'Dry Needling' also falls into this category.
Does acupuncture work? You bet it does. I can say this without hesitation based on my own 35+ years experience as a patient, and 20+ years as a practitioner, and also based on the fact that acupuncture has hundreds of years of documented success leading back to the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). During this time The Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion was published with principles of acupuncture on which modern practices of this tradition rests.
From now on, when you hear 'Acupuncture Doesn't Work', hopefully you will take that with a large grain of salt. Or at least know the right questions to ask: Was it from a Licensed Acupuncturist? How often did you go for treatments? How many treatments did you have? Did anything feel better while you were getting treatments?
If you are spreading this rumor, please stop so that others can confidently pursue a healing modality that could very well save them years of ill-health, unnecessary medical procedures or psychological suffering.
I would love the opportunity to debunk the myth that acupucnture doesn't work. Reach out to me and come in for a free consultation to learn what acupuncture can do for you, and about your recommnded course of treatment. Thank you for reading! katonahacupuncture@gmail.com
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