What is the Difference Between Dry Needling & Acupuncture?
What is Dry Needling?
Trigger Point Dry Needling (TDN) is a technique used for the treatment of myofascial pain and dysfunction. The technique involves a ‘dry’ needle, meaning one without medication or injection, which also means the needles used can be much thinner!
The needle is inserted into painful or dysfunctional parts of the muscle, also known as trigger points. This will often trigger a twitch response, which is an involuntary muscle contraction. It is shown to release acetylcholine from the muscle, normalise muscle tone, improve range, decrease pain and increase pain threshold (1, 2, 3).
Other terms commonly used to describe Dry Needling include Medical Acupuncture and Intramuscular Manual Therapy.
Which Dry Needling technique do Physio 101 practitioners practice?
Our practitioners use the Global Education of Manual Therapists (GEMt) technique.
Which Needle Do You Use?
Fine filament needles (as thin as 0.18-0.30mm in diameter), also known as acupuncture needles.
What is Acupuncture?
Acupuncture is a component of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and a form of alternative medicine, based on the belief that energy or Qi (pronounced as: chee) flows through body channels, also known as “meridians”. If this is out of balance or the Qi is not flowing as freely, it is believed to lead to illness. Acupuncturists aim to use acupuncture to restore this balance, however, there is not a lot of scientific evidence behind this and it is not fully understood how it works exactly.
Main Differences Between Dry Needling & Acupuncture
Target structure
Dry Needling: Myofascial trigger points in the dysfunctional muscle, characterised as palpable hyperirritable spots in taut bands of skeletal muscle.
Acupuncture: Specific points on the body, called acupuncture points, which have access to the meridians. A combination of several acupuncture points can be used at the same time.
Technique
Dry Needling: The needle is first inserted into subcutaneous tissue. The practitioner might then move the needle deeper to target the specific muscle and illicit a twitch response.
Acupuncture: Needles are inserted just under the skin and left for a period of time. Patients may normally feel tingling or dull aches during this period.
Time
Dry Needling: Typically takes a matter of 5-30 seconds, or as long as it takes to illicit a twitch response.
Acupuncture: The needles are inserted and left in position for up to 30 minutes.
treatment side effects
Dry Needling: Patients can experience temporary muscle soreness, typically lasting 24-48 hours after treatment, but this can vary from person to person! There may also be some minor bleeding or bruising around the needle insertion site, but don’t be alarmed! Your practitioner should advise you on how to minimise/manage this. If you have any questions or experience other side effects, please discuss this with your practitioner.
Acupuncture: The response to acupuncture can vary between patients, ranging from feeling relaxed to pain on the needle insertion sites, bruising, feeling drowsy, sick, faint or dizzy.
References:
If you’re interested in the in-depth science behind dry needling, here are some papers you can read:
Shah, Jay P. “Integrating Dry Needling With New Concepts of Myofascial Pain, Muscle Physiology, and Sensitization.” Contemporary Pain Medicine, Humana Press, pp. 107–21. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-344-8_5.
Shah, Jay P., and Elizabeth A. Gilliams. “Uncovering the Biochemical Milieu of Myofascial Trigger Points Using in Vivo Microdialysis: An Application of Muscle Pain Concepts to Myofascial Pain Syndrome.” Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, vol. 371–384, no. 4, 1 Oct. 2008, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2008.06.006.
Gattie, Eric et al. “The Effectiveness of Trigger Point Dry Needling for Musculoskeletal Conditions by Physical Therapists: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.” The Journal of orthopaedic and sports physical therapy vol. 47,3 (2017): 133-149. doi:10.2519/jospt.2017.7096