Dry Needling

The Language of Dry Needling

We use different language to describe what is happening during Dry Needling and Acupuncture treatments.

Dry needling treatments stimulate myofascial trigger points in muscles often felt as muscle knots. However, in acupuncture we use palpation to locate ‘ashi’ points, literally translating to ‘ah yes!’. Ashi points are points of muscular tension that are tender to touch.

Dry needling seeks to elicit a muscle twitch, whilst acupuncture of ashi points seeks to elicit the arrival of ‘de qi’, which can also be a muscle twitch, or other sensations including warmth, spreading or tingling.

Despite the language of acupuncture being Chinese and based on an ancient traditional medicine, the similarities of the practitioner’s intention and patient response is clear, and both acupuncture and dry needling have been researched in modern times and shown beneficial in the treatment of certain conditions

When Is Dry Needling Used?

Dry needling is predominantly used in musculoskeletal and sports injuries, whereas acupuncture is used in musculoskeletal conditions and a vast number of other conditions as well affecting every system of the body. So dry needling might be described as one of the many techniques that an acupuncturist uses.

Some examples of times when dry needling might commonly be used:

• Muscle trauma caused by strain, injury or direct impact
• Unfamiliar movements or new workouts that your muscles aren’t used to
• Being immobile for long periods of time, such as wearing a cast or workers in sedentary lines of work

Dry Needling At Blue Wren Acupuncture Brighton East

Learning acupuncture takes several years, with over 650 hours of training before a practitioner is registered as an acupuncturist with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). Acupuncturists adhere to strict professional codes of conduct that include mandatory continuing professional development. In addition, being the primary methodology used in our practice means thousands of hours of clinical practice, refinement of technique, and a passion for using this method to help hundreds of patients every year, not as an adjunct to treatment but as a core pillar.

Our practitioners are fully qualified and registered with AHPRA, members of ANTA, and are covered by all major funds for private health insurance rebates on acupuncture consultations.

If you have a musculoskeletal issue or any chronic pain, talk to us about how acupuncture and dry needling may help. If you would like to learn more about dry needling and how it can benefit you, get in touch with us. Our practitioners also provide appointments for Chinese cupping, gua sha massage, acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine.