Do you know what the difference is?
We’ve created a table overview of the main differences below.
[custom_table style=”1″]
| Acupuncture | Dry needling |
|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese system of healing based on energy concepts | Intervention used to relieve muscle pain (part of myofascial pain management) |
| Theoretical constructs built around meridian concept | Theoretical constructs built around trigger point concept |
| Tools include needles, moxibustion, finger pressure | Tools include syringe needles, local aneasthetic (wet needling) |
| Multiple insertion sites along meridian lines. | Insertion of needles focuses on trigger point zone. |
| Mechanism of pain relief from classical acupuncture associated with endorphin response from CNS.* | Mechanism of pain relief from dry needling are associated with nociceptive input from muscle around the motor endplate. |
| After needle insertion, periodic stimulation of points by needle occurs by twirling/tapping. Multiple needles inserted and remain in situ for several minutes. | Post needle insertion, a fanning technique is used to elicit and exhaust muscle twitch responses. A single needle is used to deactivate ’hotspots’ and treatment is shorter, often lasting less than 5 minutes. |
[/custom_table]
* High correlation between acupuncture pain points and myofascial trigger points (70%).
