What is dry needling?
Dry needling, by definition, refers to the practice of inserting an empty hypodermic needle into the skin (technically not the fine filiform needles that acupuncturists use, which are known as acupuncture needles). The ‘dry needling’ techniques (eg. needling motor points and trigger points) have always been used by acupuncturists as they are part of traditional acupuncture treatment involving needling the tender points or ashi in Chinese.
Is dry needling a stronger treatment than acupuncture?
Due to a high level of training with needling, acupuncturists are capable of eliciting many different sensations with a needle for your benefit. Sometimes a strong sensation is required, other times a gentle sensation will be more effective than a strong sensation – it simply comes down to choosing the right technique from the acupuncturist’s vast needling skills for the job. Acupuncturists are also trained to needle deep into a muscle, to very shallow needling techniques, so again it comes down to carefully choosing the right technique for the problem you are experiencing. There is no one size fits all when it comes to acupuncture and that’s a good thing for patient outcomes.
How much training is required to do dry needling vs acupuncture?
Acupuncturists are now required to complete a four year, accredited acupuncture degree program. This degree involves many hundreds of hours of supervised clinical needling to ensure students can needle competently and within safety guidelines for the best results for our patients. The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Authority (AHPRA) now includes a registration category for acupuncturists to ensure the safety of the public.
In contrast, practitioners who are not registered with AHPRA as acupuncturists or Chinese Medicine practitioners are unlikely to have completed this rigorous, supervised, clinical practice with needling. Many dry needling courses can be as short as just one weekend. Research has shown that there are more likely to be serious adverse reactions from needling when practitioners have only done short training courses than there are from degree qualified registered acupuncturists.
Do we offer dry needling in this clinic?
No! The good news is we offer you the services of acupuncturists who are most skilled with their tools of choice, those fine acupuncture needles, and our acupuncturists are able to develop a holistic treatment with a combination of local and/or distal acupuncture points carefully chosen to be of the most benefit to you.
Call 0490 915 628 for more information or to make an appointment at our West End or Holland Park clinic in Brisbane.