Miscellaneous
They both use the same kind of needles, so you’d be forgiven for thinking they’re the same. In a way they are: dry needling is small subset of acupuncture - just one tool in a very big toolbox! But despite the fact that both modalities use the same tools (acupuncture needles), training, regulation, protection of the public, and evidence-based research greatly differs between the two. For example, acupuncturists study a 4 year Bachelor of Health Science, while a dry needling qualification can take as little as a weekend!! Join me as we discuss, and find out why it matters to your health. Show Notes Transcript Today’s podcast was prompted by a question from one of my lovely patients! They had been getting questions from friends regarding the difference between acupuncture and dry needling, and the chat we had inspired today’s episode. In my opinion, it’s an interesting and important question to cover, as despite the fact that both modalities use the same tools (acupuncture needles), the required training, regulation, protection of the public, and evidence-based research greatly differs between the two. It’s worth knowing the difference, so let’s get into the details. Firstly, let’s briefly look at what is acupuncture and what is dry needling. Acupuncture is one of the key technologies employed by doctors of Chinese Medicine to support the body in its path to health. Acupuncture has been used for at least 8,000 years, with evidence of stone needles dating back to that time. Luckily, we now have very fine, sterile single-use needles, which are often painless! They are so fine that you could fit 8 of them into the width of 1 mm, and one of my young patients call them fairy wands :) Over the millennia that acupuncture has been used, it has developed a very rich toolbox of different approaches for different situations and patients. Acupuncture can be used for a whole range of complaints, from internal medicine (in cases such as digestive or menstrual issues), to mental & emotional cases (like anxiety and stress) - anyone who has had an “acunap” on the treatment table will attest to how relaxing acupuncture is! In addition to balancing the inner workings of the body, acupuncture has also been used for a whole range of musculoskeletal pain, injuries, trauma, fatigue and muscle soreness – and even postural adjustment, by releasing tight bands of tissues that are pulling the bones away from optimal positioning. Acupuncture has a myriad of approaches for treating pain and injuries, and a trained acupuncturist will choose the best approach for the patient. While one of our approaches can be to go directly for the tight or painful area, finding the trigger points in the muscle and connecting with those, in many cases this may be too painful, thereby further aggravating the issue - or it may even be contraindicated. For example, lower back and sacral pain is not uncommon in pregnancy, but needling and strong massage over the affected is contraindicated in pregnancy, as there is a potential risk of induction of early labour. Luckily we have a whole system of distal acupuncture (which is what I often practice in clinic) that uses distal (areas away form, or distant to, the pain) to provide pain relief and therapeutic benefit. So for the pregnant lady with back pain, there are points on the hand, arm, leg and head that I could safely choose to use, without any need to go anywhere near her back. For times when we do want to work locally, we look for tight areas within the muscle that are tender to touch, and which can refer to other locations. These are called “Ah Shi” points, which translates as “Ah Yes, that’s it”. The referral patterns will very often following acupuncture pathways, and this is because Chinese Medicine has, for millennia, understood the planes of fascia - the connective tissue that covers and links not only organs and other tissues,