Wouldn’t it be nice if things would just get better and then stay better? And if they’d do it on a nice, predictable schedule? Whether we’re talking about the world at large, our homes, or our bodies, life just doesn’t seem to work that way- and neither does acupuncture. That’s why I always aim for progress, not perfection.

Lisa Rohleder, founder of Working Class Acupuncture (and many other things!) described it beautifully in her Substack newsletter: “Progress with acupuncture — especially for chronic conditions — tends to look like incremental improvements that build on each other. First someone’s sleep gets a little better, then their energy gets a little better, then maybe they can move a little more easily which means they can get a little bit of exercise, and a little bit of exercise helps them sleep better. It’s a virtuous circle. Rinse and repeat, and it just keeps going like that until it looks like a better quality of life, full stop. Occasionally there’s the one-off miracle treatment that fixes everything all at once. But mostly it’s about hanging in there with people, feeding the virtuous circle one treatment at a time.”

We all love those “miracle” treatments where decades of chronic pain or illness are eliminated with just one or two sessions — and that does happen sometimes, but it’s the exception, not the rule. In most cases we just aim for consistent treatment over time to make gradual progress toward your treatment goal. For more on what to expect from acupuncture, check out this post.