Traditional Chinese Medicine - Acupuncture and Herbs - Treatment Process Acute conditions generally improve quicker than chronic ones. Changes for chronic conditions are usually subtle in the beginning and become more dramatic as treatment time increases. As a rule of thumb, the longer you've had the condition, the longer it will take to see and maintain improvements. Depending on your ailment, certain treatment modalities such as herbs and food strategies may be recommended along with acupuncture to provide a more effective treatment. Chinese herbs are very different from western pharmaceuticals. They are slower acting and milder than western drugs. As a result, significant changes will not be seen unless patients have taken them over a longer period of time. Click this link for frequently asked questions about herbs: www.activeherb.com/faq/ Certain foods like citrus fruits (orange, lemon), pickles, lemonade, sour foods, oily greasy, spicy foods, and tea when taken can cancel the healing properties of herbs and cause them to be ineffective. Patients should abstain from such foods while taking herbs. Pricking, if recommended is done to release a few drops of blood to remove qi stagnation and relieve heat and pain. This procedure is not required but highly recommended for certain stubborn pain. Although the patient is not required to accept any of these treatment modalities as part of their acupuncture treatment, there will be times when acupuncture needs to be combined with other treatment modalities to yield better results. In such cases,the patient should realize that deviating from a recommended treatment plan may result in a longer course of treatment time. While receiving acupuncture and/or herbal treatments, it is also very important to allow your body to rest and take a break from activities or events that can re-injure or prolong your recovery. 和