Acupuncture vs. Dry Needling

Another question that we commonly have asked at the clinic is what's the difference between acupuncture and dry needling or IMS. So in acupuncture the needles are left in longer so approximately 10 to 20 minutes. In acupuncture the other difference is that these needles are placed along Chinese meridians which will help with qi or energy. They also help to improve circulation. It helps to release hormones that help with pain relief and it helps the body to heal faster whereas dry needling or IMS is used in tight banded muscle. It's usually used for injuries that have occurred about four to six weeks previously at least and the IMS needles are just placed in and removed right away. This helps to release the muscle so relaxing the muscle because you get that twitch response or like a muscle contraction and because that feedback loop happens through the nerve root it also helps with the health of the nerve root.