Medical acupuncture and dry needling: what’s the difference? We get this question a lot here at Point Performance since we do offer both treatments. They both use fine needles, and the end goal is to improve function, reduce pain, and increase performance. But their approach and philosophies are very different.
Acupuncture is a method of encouraging the body to promote natural healing and to improve functioning. This is done by inserting needles and applying heat or electrical stimulation at very precise acupuncture points. The practice dates back thousands of years to traditional Chinese medicine.
Dry needling involves the use of a fine, sterile needle, without any medication (hence “dry”), inserted into the underlying myofascial trigger point, causing the muscle to twitch, and then relax. The procedure may cause increased blood flow to the region, and cause nerve ending responses that change pain perception.
In this video, Dr. Klaiman and Dr. Hechtman discuss the differences between acupuncture and dry needling.