Dry Needling vs. Acupuncture: What's the Difference
Dry Needling and Acupuncture use the same needles, so what’s the difference?
If you’re looking for relief from muscle pain in Austin, you’ve probably come across both “Dry
Needling” and “Acupuncture" in your searches. They use the same needles, so it is normal to wonder what the difference is. It’s also a topic that drives most Acupuncturists a little crazy, because there is a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding.
Let's start with what the heck is Dry Needling?
It is when a practitioner that is not a licensed Acupuncturist uses an Acupuncture needle intramuscularly to elicit a response with the end goal being pain relief. Depending on what state you are in scopes of practice vary. In Texas Medical Doctors, Chiropractors, Osteopaths and Physical Therapists can all take additional continuing education courses to add this modality to their tool box. This is already in the normal scope of practice for Acupuncturists, it is just not called Dry Needling when we do it - just intramuscular or Orthopedic needling.
What are the benefits of Dry Needling?
I am only talking about trigger point needling, there are other reasons to needle past the superficial layer but nobody is going to stick around to read all that detail.
The science behind it can be traced back to Janet Travell, who is referred to as the mother of trigger point therapy. One leading theory is that trigger points are pathological sites within a muscle created by repetitive strain causing an energy crisis at the site. This creates a palpable knot or tight band, that releases noxious neurotransmitters. A kind of HELP ME! signal. Needling into this site depolarizes it, often creates a twitch, and releases the knot or band. If this site goes untreated a pain area will widen, refer pain, or other muscles will take over some of the load. That is the basics.
Ok so is Acupuncture the same or different? I still don't get it.
Well the answer is yes and no. It depends on the practitioner and what your chief complaint is. If you are seeking Acupuncture care for something outside of musculoskeletal pain then the treatment will be different. This is where needles are inserted superficially to regulate the nervous system, aid digestion, circulate blood and work to balance meridians, this type of treatment is only in an Acupuncturist's scope of practice.
If you are scheduling Acupuncture for example to treat lateral epicondylitis the practitioner will work to release tension in the surrounding muscles cause by repetitive strain, release trigger points, activate any muscles that are not firing properly and perfuse blood to the poorly vascularized attachment sites. This is all done intramuscularly, not in the superficial layer. Oh and we are always zooming out and working on the person's nervous system, thinking about how sleep, digestion, and lifestyle is affecting the recovery of tissue that is injured. That is a big point of differentiation between us and others that are allowed to wield an Acupuncture needle.
Why would this drive Acupuncturists crazy?
Well partially because we often hear second hand the myth that we do not needle into the muscle so Acupuncture is not an effective modality for musculoskeletal pain. Also we hear about people using needles outside of their scope of practice, let's say treating sleep or stress with Acupuncture needles. It can be frustrating.
Honestly I try to worry about myself, there is plenty of suffering to go around. As long as everyone is being safe and playing nice then there is more opportunity to collaborate and help patients feel better. That is the point.
Which type of practitioner should I see?
That’s a personal choice. The point of this post is to give you the information to make an educated decision, and maybe so I can stop repeating a long-winded answer whenever someone in my Austin clinic asks about the difference. If your main goal is relief from muscle pain, a well-trained practitioner in any of the above mentioned specialties can be a good fit. If you also want someone looking at the bigger picture, like your sleep, digestion, stress, and how your body is recovering, that’s where an Acupuncturist brings something extra.
My experience and use of trigger point needling.
Austin has a huge fitness community and I see a lot of active people at SomaReform Wellness Collective and C4 Performance Center. I enjoy treating musculoskeletal pain, so inevitably when needling into the muscle you get trigger points without really searching hard, this is especially true for upper traps and gastrocs.
This past weekend I was up in Dallas participating in a hands on course for more advanced trigger point palpation, release, and safe needling techniques in higher risks areas. So it motivated me to finally write a post I have been thinking about for some time.
It sounds odd to some Acupuncturists that I would take a "Dry Needling" course but in a state that multiple types of licensed practitioners can dry needle I want to offer what they do, plus more. There are no other types of practitioners that have more hands on hours needling than we do, both in training and in practice, so we should be the best at all styles of Acupuncture needle-base therapies.
Dealing with muscle pain, tension, or an injury that won’t go away?
Whether you’re curious about needling or just want to talk through your options, I offer free consultations at my Austin clinics. We’ll talk about what’s going on and whether Acupuncture is the right fit.