How acupuncture works and how many sessions will I need?

The difference between the relief of symptoms and correction:

In Chinese medicine, the goal is to provide the patient relief of their symptoms and to treat the underlying cause of symptoms. Symptoms are the last piece of the puzzle to appear. In general, the conditions that created the symptoms were in place long before the symptoms really started to appear. The underlying conditions are often multifactorial and tend to go unnoticed by the patient for years ... until symptoms become more frequent and intense.

We will use the "leaky roof" analogy: Imagine that your roof is leaking, and every time it rains, the water begins to leak into the house, so that the soil and wet carpeting. After some time, the roof and carpets begin to mold and wood and the ceiling starts to rot. If we were to fix only the symptoms, without a bucket under the drain, catch water, so that the soil is dry. However, over time, the roof continues to putrefaction and mold, and if the stress was strong enough (eg heavy rain), the cube is not large enough to hold all the water overflows onto the carpet and floor. Over time, the focus temporary relief of symptoms is inadequate and does not really solve the problem (mold and putrefaction), because it does not really address the cause (the leak in the roof).

Now, let's say the homeowner still does not want to spend time and money to fix the cause of the problem. So instead, a piece of plastic tape on the leaky roof. This appears to be effective for a while, however, the roof continues to putrefaction and mold, and eventually breaks the plastic. You get the point. Sure, you could continue to cover the leak with plastic over and over again, or use the bucket approach every time it rains, however, over time, mold and rot that causes more problems. The people of the house begin to develop allergies to mold that is growing, and after a time, the causes of decay structural damage to the house and the roof begins to sag. Now it has more and more symptoms of developing the same cause. It is not safe to leave it as is. The amount of time and money is needed now to replace the roof is much more than it would have been to fix the initial leak, while still small and manageable.

Relief of symptoms = the plastic bucket and tape
= Correction to fix the roof

As the ceiling, our bodies give us subtle signals that there is a problem (eg, high cholesterol as a precursor to heart disease or occasional aches and pain become chronic pain). If we ignore the signs, or are unaware of them initially, they often turn to the major problems causing the symptoms more frequent and more destructive. In an ideal world, if a patient came in soon, Chinese medicine is able to look to these subtleties and treated before they become a problem. However, patients often do not seek treatment until they are experiencing increased symptoms. Chinese medicine and acupuncture focuses on providing the patient relief from their symptoms and treating the root cause of their problems, to prevent the symptoms from returning, and to provide lasting relief and welfare.

An additional step to ensure that symptoms do not return is maintenance. In the case of roof leaks, maintenance involve a home inspection and treatment of minor damage before it becomes a bigger problem.

With acupuncture and Chinese medicine, treatment that includes the three phases is the most effective and lasting. The duration of each phase depends on several factors, such as how long the person has had symptoms / disease, age, diet, lifestyle, general health and consistency in treatment.