This is an interesting and at times debatable topic. This topic is not for the purpose of belittling another practitioner’s specialty in their field of practice, but to clear up any confusion that lingers from the comparison of these two different treatments. It is important to note that the practice of Acupuncture is recognized as a medical tool that comes from Traditional Chinese Medicine. It is practiced by a Registered Acupuncturist and or at times a Naturopathic Doctor.
The key difference that separates a Registered Acupuncturist from another medical practitioner is requirement level of education. In order to perform acupuncture, one must have a minimum of two years schooling, which is the equivalent to approximately 2500 hours of both classroom and clinical practice that is followed with an examination. This gives a practitioner a diploma, degree and or doctorate in Acupuncture / Traditional Chinese Medicine. In comparison, a typical dry needling course can be completed within an average time frame of 20-30 hours. One will receive a dry needling certificate, typically without any examination.
Dry needling is also given the name, intramuscular stimulation, trigger point acupuncture, and even biomedical acupuncture. Dry needling uses sterile needles that get inserted into the body for the treatment of muscle pain and myofascial pain syndrome. Dry needling mainly focuses on inserting needles into trigger points (known as trigger point therapy), directly where there is neuromusculoskeletal pain. The needles get manipulated in the area in order to relieve negative sensations. Dry needling in a nutshell is used to treat these target points for pain relief.
Traditional acupuncture is performed by a registered acupuncturist. Sterile, one time use needles are inserted into specific points on the body, known as acupoints. These points are found on meridians, also known as channels or energy pathways that crisscross throughout the body. In these pathways a vital life-force energy known as Qi flows through. Each channel is paired with certain organ systems (i.e. spleen, liver, kidney, etc.), and works on bringing balance back to the body on a physical, emotional and mental level. This is a simplified explanation why traditional acupuncture is used to treat so many different things, along with neuromusculoskeletal concerns. A registered acupuncturist will do a complete diagnosis before inserting needles into the body – this includes consultation, and a tongue and pulse diagnosis. A registered acupuncturist is taught to pay attention to the responses of local, distal and whole body responses.
End note – please be sure that if you want to try Traditional Acupuncture, ask that your acupuncturist is registered, what their qualifications are and if they are a part of an acupuncture association.
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