Our orthopedic acupuncture treatments in San Francisco take a neuro-functional and anatomical approach towards the treatment of pain. In orthopedic acupuncture, diagnoses are determined through physical assessment, muscle testing, and manual palpation to determine the root cause of your pain. Acupuncture or electroacupuncture is then performed at motor points and trigger points to elicit a therapeutic twitch response. A motor point is the junction between where a nerve decussates and triggers the muscle to contract via depolarization. A trigger point is a hyper-sensitive palpable nodule in the taut bands of muscles which can cause local or referred muscular pain. Needling into a trigger point is commonly referred to as trigger point needling or dry needling. Needling motor points and trigger points and eliciting a twitch response helps to reset dysfunctional muscles and correct reflexive muscle spasms.

Our San Francisco dry needling therapy, also referred to as trigger point acupuncture, involves the insertion of a very fine acupuncture needle into hypersensitive areas of muscle and soft tissue known as “trigger points”.  When trigger points are active, they are painful, tender to palpation, and can refer pain to other areas of the body. An acupuncture needle is used to deactivate these trigger points, often by eliciting a twitch response. When trigger points are deactivated, the tissue normalizes and they become less irritable, with higher pain and inflammatory thresholds.

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1. Pain relief: Dry needling in San Francisco can help alleviate various types of pain, including muscle pain, tension headaches, and myofascial pain syndrome. The needles are inserted into trigger points, which are hyperirritable spots within muscles that can cause pain and discomfort. This helps release muscle tension and reduce pain.
    

2. Improved muscle function: By targeting trigger points and tight bands of muscle, our San Francisco dry needling treatments can improve muscle function and flexibility. The release of tension in muscles allows for better range of motion and mobility.
    

3. Faster recovery from injuries: Dry needling may aid in the recovery process for certain injuries, especially those related to musculoskeletal issues. By reducing muscle tension and promoting blood flow, it can help accelerate healing and tissue repair.

At times, patients will ask us if dry needling is acupuncture. The distinction between dry needling and acupuncture is often a heated debate amongst acupuncturists and physical therapists. But at Optim Health and Acupuncture, we believe the answer is simple: yes, dry needling is acupuncture.
 
According to the National Center of Complementary and Integrative Health, acupuncture is defined as a “technique in which practitioners stimulate specific points on the body—most often by inserting thin needles through the skin.”  According to the American Physical Therapist Association, dry needling is defined as “an intervention that uses a thin filiform needle to penetrate the skin and stimulate underlying points.” 
 
Based on these nearly identical definitions, we can conclude that yes, dry needling is acupuncture.
 
In fact, trigger points correspond to traditional acupuncture points 71% of the time! Therefore, when a physical therapist performs “dry needling”, they are simply needling acupuncture points!