15/04/2026
Same needle. Completely different approach.
Dry needling and acupuncture both use thin needles inserted into the body, but that’s where the similarity ends.
Dry needling comes from Western medicine. It targets trigger points in muscles, those tight, knotted spots that cause pain and restrict movement. It’s a physical tool used to release tension and improve function in a specific area.
Acupuncture comes from traditional Chinese medicine, which has been around for thousands of years. Instead of focusing on one sore spot, it looks at the body as a whole system. The needles are placed along meridian pathways, which are channels of energy that run through the body, and the goal is to restore balance across the whole system, not just fix what hurts.
So if you’ve had dry needling before and felt relief but it kept coming back, acupuncture might be worth exploring. It’s asking a different question entirely, not just “where does it hurt?” but “why does it keep hurting?”
If you’re curious about what acupuncture could do for you, book a session with Shanice via the link in bio.