Ask Me Anything Series: How Quickly does Acupuncture Work?
For this question, we really have to go into the context of what illnesses or conditions we are talking about.
As you can see in my previous blog post on how TCM work scientifically, and why Acupuncture works
It is obvious that acupuncture works at a physiological, functional and energetic level. In other words, Acupuncture is able to do what Western Medicine is able to and even BEYOND of what conventional medicine is capable of. Because of that, Acupuncture can treat all kind of illnesses, especially of those that are of intractable in nature.
But just how fast can Acupuncture work and resolve an illness? Let me analyse this by the different kinds of illnesses.
Conditions that are Acute, especially Pain
For conditions that are of acute in nature, which means they have a sudden onset and occurs within a few hours or days, if Acupuncture is administered fast, the condition can be resolved within seconds.
This is especially so for pain conditions such as acute sprain and strain.
In my clinical practice, the fastest I can treat acute neck sprain or 落枕 is within that session and with only 1 needle.
The reason being if done with the right technique and skill, acupuncture can unblock the strained or sprained area and reduce the inflammation within seconds, hence alleviating the suffering of pain for the patient. In Traditional Chinese Medicine terminology, Acupuncture can dissipate the pathogenic factor such as dampness, wind and cold through redirecting the Qi or energy towards the lesion area.
Conditions that are Chronic
For conditions that are chronic, I have mentioned about this in my previous blog on the fact that illnesses do not form in one day.
Many illnesses and conditions are built up day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. It is equivalent to having water drips on stones daily until one day, the water drips can pierce through the rock.
Big illnesses like cancer, autoimmune diseases, tumours do not happen overnight but are accumulated over years of the toxins and imbalances in the body. Therefore, to even resolve and reverse the harm of such illnesses, one cannot expect magic to happen overnight, especially with natural medicines like Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Those that claim that such serious chronic illnesses can be resolved overnight are either poisons themselves to kill off not only the toxins in the body but also the human being having the illness ultimately. These poisons are achievable with steroids, chemical hormones, genetically modified drugs and chemicals.
So my answer for using Acupuncture to treat chronic conditions: it will take time.
Conclusion
Nevertheless, the philosophy of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine always advocate prevention better than cure. Although Acupuncture can treat illnesses especially acute ones fast and chronic ones ultimately with patience and time, it is better that one takes care of the health and minimize the chances of falling sick. That is the wise advice from ancient and ancestors that have withstand time and space.
Read also:
Why Acupuncture Hurts , Why Acupuncture Works , Principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Further reading:
