Acupuncture vs. Dry Needling for Back Pain: Which Should You Choose?
Compare the treatments, techniques, and benefits of
acupuncture vs. dry needling.
Does your back pain get in the way of physical activities? You enjoy playing pick-up games and getting active – but you’re often left with back pain that lingers for days, weeks, months, or even years. Maybe it subsides for short periods, but that one nagging spot always returns.
You've tried every at-home back pain remedy in the book. Warm and cold presses, topical creams, massages. Maybe you're embarrassed that you even splurged on a fancy relief cushion that didn't live up to the hype.
Yet... your back still hurts.
You’ve heard that holistic acupuncture and dry needling help with back pain. But which should you choose? And what’s the difference? Keep reading to see why we recommend acupuncture, and how our professionals at Denver Health and Holistic Medicine can help relieve your back pain.
Acupuncture vs. Dry Needling
Dry needling is one specific technique used in acupuncture, so technically dry needling falls under the practice of acupuncture. In both acupuncture and dry needling, thin, solid – as opposed to hollow – needles are placed in the skin to elicit a physiological effect.
However, dry needling generally targets one specific area of pain and is therefore known as local acupuncture. Whereas holistic acupuncture places needles in multiple trigger points, aka acupuncture points, around the body. This not only relieves the area of pain but has a greater holistic healing effect on the body.
When dry needling is used to treat back pain, the needles are placed into the reflex centers of the specific muscle that’s agitated. This relieves tension in the muscle, thus relaxing the area where you’re experiencing pain. While this offers temporary pain relief, it only addresses the specific muscle and not the larger system.
The muscular system is so interconnected so when one muscle is damaged, others compensate. So if you only target one muscle during treatment, then muscle pain will likely recur, meaning you’ll keep icing your back after you leave the court. Plus the nerves in your muscles are connected to your brain – so if the larger nervous system isn’t addressed, it leads right back to muscle tightness.
On the other hand, holistic acupuncture stimulates both the local tissue and the systemic system. By placing the needles in areas that systemically affect the area of pain, it treats the problem holistically. This process promotes circulation, reduces inflammation, improves immune function, calms nerves thus breaking the vicious pain cycle. Overall, it provides a deep state of relaxation which also promotes healing.
For example: in holistic acupuncture, needles may be placed in the hands, feet, and top of the head to treat back pain. You may think that these body parts are totally unrelated to your back, but the internal systems in these areas affect the muscles, nerves, and areas of the brain that relate to the site of your back pain.
During holistic acupuncture, you may receive local needling at the pain site as well. But local needling or dry needling is not essential. Remember pain is just the symptom of a deeper issue that needs to get addressed at its root. Holistically addressing all the interconnected aspects that cause the symptom is the more effective way to achieve lasting pain relief.
Here's the difference in the techniques used in holistic acupuncture vs. dry needling, and what they each treat:
Holistic Acupuncture
Treats: Chronic pain, muscle pain and cramping, nerve pain, ligament and tendon injuries, headaches, emotional stress, autoimmune issues, hormone imbalances… the list goes on. Check out all the conditions acupuncture treats here.
Technique: An acupuncturist places needles at key trigger points and leaves them there for about 30 minutes. Your acupuncturist may stimulate or manipulate the needles in that time as deemed appropriate Find out even more details about acupuncture here.
Dry Needling
Treats: Muscle pain and cramping
Technique: Needles are inserted and removed after brief manipulation, aka flash needling. Dry needling taps into the reflex centers for a very short period of time.
Many people report muscle pain relief after dry needling, but it doesn’t last. Dry needling may relax the muscle and thus reduce pain in the short term, but it won’t treat the underlying cause like inflammation, connective tissue damage, disk herniations, or the associated nerve pain such as sciatica, which often accompanies lower back pain.
Holistic acupuncture provides a long-term solution to back pain because you’re addressing the root cause of the issue by calling on the entire system to promote healing of the affected tissue. If you want to break this vicious pain cycle, this practice is for you.
The History of Acupuncture vs. Dry Needling
Performing acupuncture requires a deep understanding of highly complex systems and how they interrelate. Understanding this interconnectedness is crucial to addressing pain at the systemic level. And healing at the systemic level is pivotal to healing properly, rather than temporarily managing pain.
Knowing how to safely and effectively heal at the systemic level requires extensive training. So it's important to highlight that the training process for acupuncture is much more extensive than dry needling.
Acupuncturists undergo a minimum of 3-4 full-time years of graduate school which includes 2 years of clinical training to...
Gain a deep understanding of underlying human anatomy
Learn and certify in clean, safe, and effective needling techniques
Develop expertise in diagnostics, acupuncture point combinations, and treatment
Expand their knowledge of various other treatment modalities that support the acupuncture process, like Tui-Na, Cupping, Gua Sha, Moxibustion, and Electrical Stimulation
After graduate school, acupuncturists are also required to pass board exams after successful completion of all course and clinical requirements. This training also includes a full term in clean and safe needling techniques, acupuncture anatomy, and 2 full years of clinical internships.
Licensure to practice is awarded only after board exams are passed successfully ensuring the public that acupuncturists are well-equipped to perform holistic and local acupuncture and do so in a safe manner.
By contrast, the training course for dry needling isn't nearly as extensive. This short, one-weekend course doesn’t cover the complexity of the body’s systems or extensive training in safe needling techniques. There is no clinical internship required and no board exam to ensure competency in this invasive procedure. This increases the risks of serious injury like organ damage.
Dry needling is a newer practice whereas acupuncture is an ancient Chinese medicine technique with a long history – thousands of years – of effectiveness. At its best, dry needling offers temporary relief but doesn't offer the holistic benefits that acupuncture does.
So, if you’re looking for a proven, safe, and long-term solution to back pain by a highly trained board licensed professional, we recommend the holistic treatment of acupuncture.
Other Natural Solutions to Back Pain
After all these years of experiencing back pain, you're ready for lasting relief. While acupuncture is a proven solution, it always helps to supplement this with practices that support your muscles.
Here are a few techniques you can try to compliment your back healing journey:
Yoga and Stretching
Some people will try a stretch once and then give up if they don't see immediate relief. But practicing yoga or stretching every morning can make progress over time. For example, try lying on your back with your knees pulled close to your chest.
Myofascial Release Therapy
This manual therapy technique focuses on relieving pain that arises from your myofascial tissues. These tissues are the strong membranes that surround your muscles and support them. Myofascial release therapy massages the stiff tissues to provide relief. (2)
Low-Impact Activity
When you're experiencing back pain, you may think it's best you avoid physical activity. Only on the rarest occasion is “no exercise” the right answer. But a low-impact activity can actually loosen your spasming muscles, and help alleviate some of that back pain. You can try a water exercise that’s gentle on your muscles, like water aerobics or swimming. (1)
Check Your Shoes.
Have you been wearing the same running shoes for the past year? Back pain often starts in your feet since they’re the foundation of your spine. There’s a chance that your soles or insoles are too thin or worn and not offering enough support for your lower back. Be sure to check your shoes to make sure they fit and support the feet correctly.
Chiropractic.
Joint misalignments are a common cause of back pain. Chiropractic adjustments that align your joints properly can in turn provide relief. And when paired with acupuncture, chiropractic adjustments are even more effective.
Acupuncture relaxes the nerves surrounding the muscles that pull on your joints. This allows the chiropractic adjustments to stay in place more effectively. Meaning your joints won't simply fall out of alignment as easily after your treatments.
Proper guidance by a professional can help ensure these techniques work for you. Request a free consultation with us to learn about how our therapeutic exercise program may complement your healing journey. We'll develop a personalized exercise and stretch routine that supports your specific injuries.
Remember that pairing natural solutions to back pain with acupuncture creates a more well-rounded treatment plan to finally get you the lasting relief you deserve.
Try Acupuncture for Back Pain
You love exercising – whether it's playing a game with the guys after work or enjoying a hike with your family. It's time back pain stopped getting in the way of enjoying your favorite activities.
At Denver Sports and Holistic Medicine, we help you solve the root cause of your back pain, so it doesn't keep flaring up every time you want to be active.
We specialize in holistic sports medicine that integrates holistic acupuncture, therapeutic exercise, trigger point injections, prolotherapy and ozone, and various other modalities to treat back pain. Our holistic approach treats back pain at a systemic level to provide real relief.
When you schedule a consultation, we'll take a deep dive into your lifestyle and health history to see what combination of modalities among acupuncture is the right fit for you. And together we'll create a well-rounded approach to relieving you of your back pain.
Through our proven process we’ve seen so many people, just like you, overcome their back pain...
“Meeting Martina has changed my life, after a long-standing back problem I feel whole again.” - Kath
“In the first 70 years of my life I was in constant pain from my back [...] After 20 treatments my pain is considerably reduced and I feel with further treatments I will reduce the pain to where it is manageable.” - Peter
For more testimonials, check out our extensive testimonial archive.
If you're ready for lasting back pain relief, request a consultation with Denver Sports and Holistic Medicine today.
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