This is very subjective. It depends on the patient, the condition being treated, the severity and duration of the condition and which treatment(s) you receive. For acute stage conditions, you may start to feel some benefits of treatment after the first session, especially if you receive acupuncture or tuina. For chronic or long-standing conditions, a patient will normally need more time. If you are prescribed herbal medicine, the process can take a little longer, and you may only notice changes after a week or two weeks of treatment.

Patient compliance with advice given by practitioners will also have an effect. For example, if you are advised to take herbal medicine, rest or exercise but do not follow a regular routine, you may prolong the amount of time it takes before you start noticing changes to your condition.

For most patients, the effects of treatment are cumulative. This means that each treatment builds on the previous one, so normally over a course of treatments, you will notice increasing changes from one session to the next.