Dry Needling vs Acupuncture: Similarities And Differences

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If you have pain or muscle tension, you may be considering some kind of needling treatment. When considering dry needling vs acupuncture how do you know which one you need? By the end of this video, you will understand the difference between the two and which one is right for you.

Chapters:
► 00:00 Dry needling vs acupuncture
► 00:51 What are the similarities between dry needling and acupuncture?
► 01:22 What are the differences between dry needling and acupuncture?
► 02:25 Which treatment is best for me?
► 02:49 What is dry needling?

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Interesting video. I am an acupuncturist so I felt compelled to comment about a few things.
It is true that acupuncture 'traditionally' targets meridians/channels. However, there is also an ancient concept called ashi points, which basically translates to areas that are painful or tender on palpation. Pretty much any tender areas of the body that are anatomically safe to needle would fall under the category of being an ashi point. Additionally, in acupuncture, there aren't just the main meridians, there are several different categories of meridians, including sinew/muscle meridians that treat sinew/muscle problems.
I've also heard the claim that acupuncture doesn't go beyond the subcutaneous level from other PT's. That is just flat out inaccurate. Many points that are located over areas of thick muscles are indicated to potentially be needled around 3 cun (similar to inches, but corresponds to the size of the patient) or more. For example, the point Gallbladder 30 is indicated traditionally to be needles up to 3.5 cun deep. The point Gallbladder 30, incidentally, is basically aimed right at the piriformis muscle, and indicated for symptoms of sciatica and other symptoms that the piriformis muscle produces. The ancient Chinese didn't call muscles by their modern names, like the piriformis muscle, but they clearly understood that sticking a needle in certain areas of the body (like muscles) could treat certain conditions. To go along with that, there are literally 100's of specific points indicated for specific musculoskeletal problems. If you also pair that with the concept of ashi points, you may start to understand why acupuncturists get frustrated when people claim that acupuncture doesn't treat or focus on treating musculoskeletal problems.
Also, you mentioned electrical stimulation of needles as if it was specific to dry needling. Electrostimulation of acupuncture needles was actually invented in China in the 1950's.
Lastly, modern acupuncturists are heavily trained in modern anatomy, physiology, and kinesiology. Obviously we aren't as well trained in those areas as physical therapists, but modern Chinese medicine has been integrated with modern western science and medicine. We even have to pass a separate biomedicine national board in conjunction with other national boards. I personally took 2 integrative musculoskeletal classes in my program where we learned material from sources like Janet Travell, which dry needlers often reference. I guess the main point I want to make here is that acupuncture is a vast and ancient medicine with very many different approaches and techniques and that modern acupuncture has also been integrated with western science. With that being said, I'm not opposed to PT's doing dry needling, but I would just hope that PT's educate themselves more about acupuncture before painting acupuncture in an inaccurate light.

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