Traditional Acupuncture and Dry Needling

What’s the difference between Traditional Acupuncture and Dry Needling?

It was a man by the name of Karl Lewitt MD in 1979 that started looking into the benefits of needling for the treatment of orthopedic dysfunction. This coincided with the work of physicians Travell and Simons that published data on common referred pain patterns from areas in muscle known as “trigger points.”

In the beginning of dry needling, a hypodermic needle was used but then was quickly replaced with a solid, monofilament needle to treat the tissues without injections.

Often physical therapists, including Osteopaths, Sports Therapists and Physiotherapists and certain parts of the NHS, will refer to Acupuncture techniques and offer acupuncture as a part of their services. This form of Acupuncture is known as Dry Needling and should not be confused with Traditional Acupuncture.

There are points within the body that lend themselves to pain and tension relief. These are taught to practitioners like physical therapists in order to optimise their results with patients. It can be hugely beneficial in the short and long term for patients and should be encouraged.

However, if it is not effective for the purpose of the treatment, we urge people not to associate it with Tradtional Acupuncture – an Eastern practice that has been devised over thousands of years to embody a full system of medicine.

If you would like to know more about Traditional Acupuncture or Dry Needling, please feel free to comment or call us 01359 408 011.

Our Sports Massage and Remedial Massage Specialist Daniel Marshall now offers Dry Needling as part of his treatment when required and we have two Acupuncturists, Michaela and Mark  – both practising Traditional Acupuncture with cupping, tui na massage and moxibustion –  helping patients with a wide variety of conditions.

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