Dry needling is a term often used by physical therapists and chiropractors to describe a technique for muscle stimulation using a needle. It’s called dry needling because nothing is injected into the body with the needle. The procedures makes use of an acupuncture needle. This article will look at some of the differences between acupuncture Vs dry needling.
What is Dry Needling 😣 ?
During dry needling, practitioners focus on using strong stimulation of the muscles to get them to release. They often often use needles directly on the painful area along with electro-stimulation.” It provides relief for a few hours, but it only addresses the pain symptoms rather than the root cause.
What is Acupuncture 😊 ?
Acupuncture, on the other hand, does not use strong stimulation like electro-stimulation. It’s based on channel theory (meridians) and using points to heal the body naturally. Acupuncture gives instant results, relieving pain while also addressing the real cause by treating the root of the issue. Healing and pain relief take place simultaneously.
As a result, the experience for the patient will be a lot different between these two forms of treatment. Acupuncture is not painful at all, while dry needling can be.
What is the difference between Dry Needling & Acupuncture ?
Another key difference between dry needling and acupuncture is the amount of training required to administer each of these forms of treatment. Acupuncture requires significantly more training. It requires graduating from an accredited school and hundreds of hours of both classroom training and clinical practice experience.
Dry needling, on the other hand, only requires minimal training. In Tennessee, for example, physical therapists only need to complete 24 hours of classroom training to be able to administer dry needling treatment.
When it comes to acupuncture Vs dry needling, get acupuncture from an acupuncturist! At Access Acupuncture, we practice a highly effective style of acupuncture, called the Balance Method, which provides instant relief, is highly effective, gives long lasting results and can even treat internal medical issues. It’s extremely rare that you will see us needling a painful area. We provide results without having to cause more pain.