Acupuncture therapy works cumulatively. The number of visits you need depends on the intensity and origin of your imbalance! As your condition improves, the frequency of treatments decreases. Most conditions take time to manifest, so restoring your body back to optimum health will be a process.

Phase 1: Relief Care– Relieving Symptoms In the first phase of care, our main goal is to reduce any unwanted symptoms that you are experiencing. This is the acute stage. The first phase of care is always the most intense and will involve up to three visits per week for a short time. Scheduled close together, this short series will help you decide if acupuncture is right for you. Your symptoms will begin to go away you will be begin enjoying the benefits of good health! Most people are under the assumption that if they don’t feel any pain that there is nothing wrong with them – that they are healthy. Unfortunately, pain is a very poor indicator of health. In fact, pain and other symptoms frequently only appear after a disease or other condition has become advanced. For example, consider a cavity in your tooth. Does it hurt when it first develops or only after it has become serious? How about heart disease? Regardless of whether you are talking about cancer, heart disease, diabetes, stress or problems, pain is usually the last thing to appear. When you begin acupuncture therapy, pain is also the first symptom to disappear, even though much of the underlying condition remains. Phase 2: Corrective Care– Treating the Root Acupuncture is a holistic modality and treats both the branch symptoms and the root cause. Phase 2: Corrective Care focuses on correcting the real problem behind your symptoms. During this phase you will not receive treatments as often as you did in the first stage of care. You will be given exercises, dietary suggestions, and stress reduction techniques that will help speed Phase 2 along. This is an important part of the treatment. Taking the symptoms away is our first priority and then we continue with the healing process. In reality, symptoms may not appear in the body until a condition has already reached it’s advanced stages. For example, a heart condition’s first symptom is most commonly a heart attack. The damage which causes a heart attack, however, was present long before the first symptom. Pain is usually the last thing to appear when a condition exists and the first thing to go when the condition is being corrected. At Atlantic Acupuncture, we regard the elimination of symptoms as the easiest part of a person’s care. If all that the acupuncturist does is to reduce the pain and stop there, the chances of the condition recurring are much greater. In order to prevent a rapid recurrence of symptoms, it is necessary to continue receiving care even though your symptoms are gone. It is important to not get discouraged if you have flare-ups during this stage of care. Flare-ups are natural during this stage since your body isn’t fully healed yet. Depending on the severity of your injury or condition and how long you have been suffering from it, this phase of your care may last for several months. Phase 3: Wellness Care- Staying Healthy Just like continuing an exercise program and eating well in order to sustain the benefits of exercise and proper diet, it is necessary to continue maintenance. Maintenance is Key to Healthy Living. Once your body has fully healed, routine acupuncture care can help ensure that your problems do not return. Routine acupuncture visits fine tune your mind, body and spirit and prevents injuries and illness. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” – Benjamin Franklin Acupuncture therapy helps you come to life more fully, with more vitality. To prevent illness and promote longevity, the ancients recommended acupuncture treatment once each season.