What is the difference between acupuncture and dry needling?

Dry Needling or IMS vs Acupuncture

Many people have heard of Dry Needling or IMS because it is a technique commonly used in physiotherapy and sports medicine to treat myofascial pain or injury. There is a lot of confusion about what these various terms mean and how they differ from acupuncture. Dry needling, also sometimes called Functional Dry Needling (FDN) is technique in which a solid filiform needle is inserted into muscle in order to stimulate a trigger point in the muscle. It is also frequently referred to as IMS or intramuscular stimulation. The term Dry Needling is meant to differentiate it from a related technique in which a hypodermic needle is used to inject a solution, often a local analgesic directly into a muscle trigger point. Both techniques are forms of trigger point therapy, used to treat myofascial pain.

Myofascial trigger points are made up of dense bundles of contraction knots in muscle tissue. They feel like hard lumps in a muscle or like a taut ropy band of tissue. They can be latent, which means that aren’t causing pain but they still cause weakness and limit the full extension of the muscle. They can also be active, causing pain which can be local or referred to different areas. Stimulating the tissue can cause the contracted muscle fibres to release, relieving the pain and weakness.

How is Acupuncture Different?

Acupuncture is a treatment modality that is part of Traditional Chinese medicine. It is similar to dry needling in that both use solid filiform needles and both may be used to treat myofascial pain. However TCM acupuncture is based on the Chinese theory of yin and yang and the concept of qi, our vital energy that flows through a system of meridians in the body. When qi becomes blocked, pain occurs. An acupuncturist will often insert needles into other parts of the body as well as the site of the pain, in order to open up the flow of qi in the affected meridian.

Acupuncture & “Ah shi” points

An acupuncturist will also often use what are called “Ah shi” points. These are points that are tender when palpated and generally correspond to trigger or motor points in an affected muscle. Thus, acupuncturists do use trigger point therapy to relieve myofascial pain but they also have other techniques at their disposal based on both western anatomical knowledge and knowledge of the Chinese system of meridians. A good acupuncturist will also provide an in-depth consultation and diagnosis of the patient’s overall health, in order to treat any underlying issues or imbalances that may be affecting the patient’s condition.