There are two basic schools of acupuncture. One school is to try and cause the patient the least amount of discomfort possible.

The other school is to press as hard as possible, in order to get at the problem.

I have had both. The "School of Hard Needle Knocks" is not a discomfort thing. It is more painful than anything I have ever had in a dental chair. And by far. You scream. Period.

If you haven't screamed while having acupuncture, then you probably had the gentle kind.

You may need the Medieval Rack and Screw kind of acupuncture.

My Pin Cushion Lady (I am the pin cushion) asks me if she can do the harder kind. Most of time, I am not up for it.

So, that may be part of the problem?

Also, as we are getting needled, we tend to tense up, that somehow interferes with the therapy.

I have my acupuncturist come to the home. When I am on that acupuncture table, it is tiny and I tense up. Getting it done on a regular queen size bed, has made a huge difference.

Also, my acupuncturist is also a licensed massage therapist. So, I have her give me stretches to do daily. Doing daily stretches and also sleeping in a proper sleeping position that does not aggravate my injuries...that extends the effectiveness of the acupuncture.

If you have acupuncture doing the day, then sleep on a bad mattress at night...you are then spending 8 hours mis-aligning your body. That can easily undo the work of the acupuncture. Oh, and you simply have to get the proper mattress. Tempur Pedic works for a lot of folks. I use a pillow top mattress.

So, you may also need to do that extra work daily to enhance the effectiveness of the acupuncture.

You may be "burning" through the day and taking your body into various kinds of positions and stress, which, again, fight against the treatment of the acupuncture. So, even just by physical habits, you can undo the work of the acupuncture. So, the work is good, but your daily habits are undoing its effectiveness.

And, by the way, that goes for many therapies, including PT, not just acupuncture. Our daily habits can easily undo various therapeutic work. Basically goes to, you know, taking much easier on our body. You may simply have to do less physical work, particularly not lift things that are as heavy, etc. etc. etc. etc.

Best of luck.