Do I Need Acupuncture or Dry Needling?…

…Can you explain the difference?

I get this question a lot. 

I will divide this discussion into two parts, the similarities and differences! And I will divide the differences into two parts; the history of the origin and the treatment principles/methods to keep it simple!

The similarities

This one is easy. The only similarity is that the acupuncture needles are used for both acupuncture and dry needling. In the beginning stages of dry needling, hypodermic needles were used. But they are rarely used now. I will elaborate on it later. 

The differences

There definitely are differences, but they are not absolutely exclusive from each other as acupuncture has techniques to treat musculoskeletal issues. Also, dry needling techniques may present some commonly sharing points with acupuncture meridians regardless of the caregiver’s intention. I will mainly discuss the differences in their history of origin and treatment principles below. 

The history of the origin 

Acupuncture

No one really knows how acupuncture began. But the discoveries of evidence point that it has originated in China. There have been excavations and findings that show sharpened stones and bones were used possibly for acupuncture treatments and also for surgical tools as early as 6000BCE. In the Ma-Wang-Dui tomb in 198 BCE, the first document relevant to acupuncture was found with the references of meridians but without any references for procedures. In about 100 BCE, the first documentation referencing the procedures appeared in “The yellow emperor’s classic of internal medicine”. The theory and practice of acupuncture continued to grow for centuries until “The Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion” was published around the 15th century where the principles of acupuncture were described with 365 insertable points to modify the flow of energy called “Qi” (pronounced “Chee”). Acupuncture has had its decline and revival through centuries, but now it is widely accepted all over the world and extensively researched for its efficacy that has been proven for many health issues.

Dry Needling

Although the term “dry needling” was introduced by Janet Travell, MD in 1983 in her book “Trigger Point Therapy”, the first dry needling effectiveness was found by Dr. Karel Lewit of the Czech republic in 1979, noting that the pain relief was not related to the analgesics used. Dr. Travell had never used acupuncture needles. But the recent dry needling mostly uses acupuncture needles for the efficacy as well as the ease of use and patient comfort.

Treatment Principles/Methods

The principles of meridian

In acupuncture, needles are inserted according to meridian theory. Meridian is a channel that contains individual acupuncture points (area-specific) that cause certain effects such as alleviating symptoms and/or changing certain physiological impacts. There are a total of 20 meridians; 12 principal meridians (heart, small intestine, stomach, spleen, lungs, large intestine, kidneys, bladder, liver, gallbladder, pericardium, and triple warmer) and 8 extraordinary meridians. There are a total of 670 known points.

The image below demonstrates acupuncture points on one of the patients I treated who suffered from Bell’s palsy (specific stomach and gallbladder meridian points used are visible).

The principles of anatomical pathomechanics 

Dry needling doesn’t follow the meridian system that has been explained above. In a simple explanation, the diagnoses of pathomechanics of the musculoskeletal system will lead to the delivery of the treatments by inserting into the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints. Dry needling is also called “Trigger Point Needling” as it often treats trigger point problems and “Western Acupuncture” as it doesn’t follow the “Eastern or Chinese Acupuncture Meridian System”. The pathomechanics of musculoskeletal structures and/or trigger points cause abnormal and enhanced pain patterns due to disrupted action potentials (ion activities that cause basic nerve function) that lead to hypoxia (lack of oxygen) due to the decreased blood flow. As needles (either acupuncture or hypodermic needles) get inserted, they will cause an analgesic effect by reducing nociceptive substances near structures of pathomechanics or trigger points.

Here is a video clip on how dry needling is used on 2 patients of mine who suffered from GTS (Gluteal Tendinopathy Syndrome) and Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis), respectively. The needles are placed in Gluteal muscles, brachioradialis and wrist extensor digitorum muscles).

I feel like I might have oversimplified the concepts, but it was for the purpose of helping you understand the main differences. I hope this clarified the difference between the two. If you have any questions or comments, please, feel free to use the comment section below! Hope you enjoyed reading!

 

 

 

 

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