Acupuncture Vs Dry Needling

What's the Difference?

	Acupuncture	Dry Needling
Practitioners	TCM Practitioners	Allied Health (e.g physiotherapists, massage therapists)
Training	4 year Bachelor's degree	3 day course
Regulation	Nationally regulated by AHPRA & CMBA	Not nationally regulated
Ongoing Requirements	Annual Continuous Professional Development	Nil
Origins & History	2000+ years old	40-70 years old
Approach	Holistic. Symptoms reflect imbalance of the body as a system.	Biomechanical. Symptoms treated in isolation.
Theoretical Basis	Based in ancient theories (e.g Yin & Yang)	Anatomical and physiological basis
Aims	Balance body systems to alleviate symptoms, prevent illness	Relieve musculoskeletal pain and tension
Scope of practice	Broad. Treats local, systemic, psychological and emotional conditions	Limited to musculoskeletal and neuromuscular
Patient Experience	Tends to be gentle and relaxing	Tends to be intense, targeting trigger points

Which is right for you?

There are 3 main points for consideration below.

1. What is your primary concern?

   - If you have musculoskeletal pain or discomfort, especially if it's a simple “knot” then dry-needling is for you.

   
   

   - Is the affected area too sensitive to be needled? Acupuncture is gentler and also offers the option of treating other regions of the body in order the treat the affected area.

   
   

   - If you have concerns regarding pain management, headaches, digestive issues, anxiety, depression, infertility, menstrual issues, insomnia etc., acupuncture and Chinese Medicine is for you.

2. What kind of experience do you prefer?

Relaxing and holistic? Acupuncture.

Intense and clinical? Dry needling.

3. Who is providing treatment?

Ask about their qualifications, expertise and approach. As with any profession, the quality of care can vary from one practitioner to another.

Still not sure?

You can always try both!

References

Chronic Pain

Vickers AJ et al. (2018). Acupuncture for chronic pain: Update of an individual patient data meta-analysis. J Pain, 19(5):455–474.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2017.11.005

Headaches & Migraines

Linde K et al. (2016). Acupuncture for the prevention of episodic migraine. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, (6):CD001218.

DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001218.pub3

Digestive Disorders (e.g. IBS, functional dyspepsia)

Zhou W, Benharash P. (2014). Effects and mechanisms of acupuncture based on the gastrointestinal diseases: A review. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med, 2014:1–12.

DOI: 10.1155/2014/376152

Fertility & IVF Support

Qian Y et al. (2017). Acupuncture for infertility: A review of systematic reviews. Eur J Integr Med, 9:82–90.

DOI: 10.1016/j.eujim.2016.10.002

Mental Health (Depression & Anxiety)

Armour M et al. (2018). Acupuncture for depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Clin Med, 7(10):241.

DOI: 10.3390/jcm7100241

Menstrual Pain (Dysmenorrhea)

Smith CA et al. (2016). Acupuncture for primary dysmenorrhoea. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, (4):CD007854.

DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD007854.pub3

Insomnia

Cao H et al. (2009). Acupuncture for treatment of insomnia: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Sleep Med, 10(7):694–700.

DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2008.11.01