Dry Needling vs Acupuncture

Isn’t dry needling the same as acupuncture, just with a physical therapist giving the treatment?

They are very similar but have a few differences in their origins and the conditions they treat. Both methods use super thin needles to activate or stimulate a target area. Both are used to treat a variety of pain and movement problems, such as: joint pain, headaches and migraines, pelvic pain, cramps, carpal tunnel, jaw and mouth issues, tendinitis, and more.

Where do they differ?

Dry needling has its roots planted in science, identifying anatomical structures that perform certain tasks and using the needles to activate these areas for a desired effect. It was first developed in the 1940s, so has only been around for about 80 years. Acupuncture has been around for thousands of years and is based on the flow of qi (pronounced chee). Ancient medical illustrations depict acupuncture points and the flow of qi throughout the body, which does not exactly line up with the nerves or blood flow that we’re familiar with today.

Dry needling and acupuncture also differ in what each claims to treat. Dry needling is more limited, focusing pretty much only on pain and movement issues and saying that it should not be used on pregnant people. In addition to the pain and movement problems, acupuncture is also used to treat things like immune system conditions, infertility, menopause, irritable bowel syndrome, and pregnancy discomfort.

The training requirements are also different. To legally administer dry needling, you would need to get a bachelor’s degree, complete the 3 year doctor of physical therapy program, then take a 3 day course for certification. To become an acupuncturist, you start with the bachelor’s degree, then complete about 2.5 years of a master’s or doctoral acupuncture program.

"NYCTCM Acupuncture Clinic visit" by NYCTCM is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Why is dry needling called that?

Personally, I am not a fan of this name. Not even a little bit. It just sounds uncomfortable, doesn’t it? As odd as this name sounds, it does make a little sense. Wet needling is when someone uses a needle to inject a treatment or medication. Yes, exactly what your nurse is doing when they give you a vaccine or the anesthesiologist when they give you the sleepy juice through an IV. So dry needling’s name came from taking the wet out of wet needling.

Is one better than the other?

I think this is one of those things where it’s different for each person and it really, REALLY depends on the provider. In my limited experience, it seems that patients tend to have better luck with acupuncture. If I were going to offer this service myself as a praciticing clinician in the future, I would definitely put effort into collaborating with acupuncturists first. They’ve been around a long time with a good reputation so there must be some great stuff to learn from them.

If you’re interested in diving deeper into this topic, try one of these sites:

https://integrativedryneedling.com/history-of-dry-needling/

https://www.news-medical.net/health/Acupuncture-History.aspx

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/16542-dry-needling

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/4767-acupuncture

If you’ve had personal experience with dry needling or acupuncture, let me know how it went in the comments below! I’d love to learn from you!