How many acupuncture sessions will you need?

Why there is no single number

How many acupuncture sessions you book depends on what brought you in, how long it has been going on, what else is happening in your health and your week, and what you want to get back to. Two people who book for the same sore neck can end up with quite different plans.

That is why the first appointment is longer. At Back in Health Glenmore, a first visit is 60 minutes and $140, and includes a full intake about your complaint, sleep, digestion, stress and energy before any needles are used. That picture is what the plan is built on.

Treat any early estimate as a starting point rather than a contract. A good plan is reviewed as you go, and it can be shortened as easily as it is extended.

How a plan is usually set

At the end of the first visit, your acupuncturist should explain what they found, what they suggest, and roughly how they expect visits to be spaced. If they do not, ask. You are entitled to understand the plan before you commit to it.

Ask, too, when you will review it together. A set review point keeps the plan honest for both of you, and it is far easier to agree on at the start than halfway through.

How often you will go

Acupuncture plans often start with visits closer together, commonly weekly, while your acupuncturist learns how you respond. As things settle, visits are usually spaced further apart, and then either stop or move to occasional check-ins.

The direction matters more than the exact count. If the gaps between visits are growing, the plan is moving the right way. If you are still booked weekly months later with no clear change, it is time for an honest conversation.

At Back in Health, follow-ups are $115 for 45 minutes or $140 for 60 minutes. A 45-minute follow-up suits a focused session on one complaint; 60 minutes leaves more time when you are working on more than one thing, or when the plan includes cupping or gua sha.

Tracking what changes

Track one or two things, such as pain at the same time each day or how you sleep, so the review rests on something concrete rather than a vague impression. A few words in your phone after each visit is enough.

Bring those notes to your appointments. They help your acupuncturist adjust points, spacing and session length, and they make the review conversation quicker and more useful.

Combining acupuncture with other care

Our acupuncturist, Candice Jones, is also a Registered Massage Therapist. The extended 90-minute session, $195, adds front and back points, cupping and massage in one visit, which some people prefer to booking two separate appointments.

If you are also seeing a physiotherapist, massage therapist or doctor for the same problem, tell each of them what the others are doing so visits are spaced sensibly and the plan fits together. Physiotherapy at Back in Health is at our Kirschner clinic.

Planning around insurance

Many BC extended health plans include acupuncture, usually as a yearly dollar amount, sometimes shared with other paramedical services and sometimes with a per-visit limit. Compare that allowance with the plan your acupuncturist suggests early, rather than finding out later that it has run out.

If your coverage is limited, say so at the first visit. Your acupuncturist can space visits further apart or choose shorter follow-ups. Back in Health direct bills most major insurers, so you pay only the portion your plan does not cover when your policy allows it.

ICBC claims are accepted at Back in Health for physiotherapy and kinesiology at Kirschner, and for massage therapy with Cassie Poch, RMT, at Glenmore, not for acupuncture. We do not currently accept WCB or WorkSafeBC claims.

When to stop, or change course

You are usually ready to stop, or to move to occasional visits, when you are doing what you came in to get back to and you know what to watch for. Some people book a check-in a few weeks later to see how things are holding.

If nothing has shifted after a fair trial, say so. A good practitioner will adjust the approach, combine needling with hands-on work, or suggest a different discipline, such as physiotherapy at our Kirschner clinic, rather than simply booking more of the same. See your doctor if symptoms are new, worsening or unexplained.