Are you wondering what’s the difference between dry needling vs. acupuncture? Read this quick guide to get up to speed.
From the patient’s perspective, there’s not much difference between dry needling and acupuncture. Essentially, both practices involve very thin needles being skillfully driven into different regions of the body. The main difference between acupuncture and dry needling is that acupuncture follows an eastern paradigm and dry needling follows a western paradigm.
- Increases blood flow
- Decreases muscle tone
Most of us are familiar with the concept of tight, or stressed muscle tissue. It has been shown through the use of real time ultrasound, that the introduction of a needle into muscle tissue has an effect on muscle tone. All tissues within the body will demonstrate rhythmical movement at rest. In the case of a spasmodic muscle (hypertonic), the tissue can be observed to move at a higher than usual rate. Upon the introduction of a needle into this spasmodic muscle, we can observe a reduction in the rate of movement of the tissue. This phenomenon has come to be interpreted as a ‘relaxation response’ of the muscle tissue, restoring it to normal tone.
The concept of sticking needles into the body is, understandably, puzzling to a first-timer. The most obvious question is, “why would one ever do this?” There are also many other strange methods used by practitioners to heal musculoskeletal injuries. Some of those might include gua sha, cupping, rolfing or shock-wave therapy. In the same way that people perform different exercises in the gym on various muscle groups to stimulate growth, practitioners will use different modalities to stimulate healing within targeted tissues. The technique of dry needling is just one of many effective ways to bring about a desired healing response within tissues of the body.
If you’re curious to experience the positive results dry needling may have on your particular condition, call The Physicaltherapy Centre today on 02 9922 6116 or BOOK ONLINE and schedule an appointment with one of our highly experienced practitioners.
