What is "Dry Needling"?

What is “Dry Needling”?

 Dunning etc. wrote:

‘Dry needling’ refers to the insertion of thin monofilament needles, as used in the practice of acupuncture, without the use of injectate. Dry needling is typically used to treat muscles, ligaments, tendons, subcutaneous fascia, scar tissue, peripheral nerves, and neurovascular bundles for the management of a variety of neuromusculoskeletal pain syndromes. Given the broad base of international literature presently available on the technique, it is particularly concerning that the primary US-based, National Physical Therapy Association and several State Boards of Physical Therapy have recently narrowed their definition of dry needling to an ‘intramuscular’ procedure, i.e. the insertion of needles into nodules within taut bands of muscle, more commonly referred to as ‘trigger points’ (TrPs) or ‘myofascial trigger points’ (MTrPs). More specifically, these professional organizations have equated the procedure of dry needling with the term ‘intramuscular manual therapy’ (IMT) or ‘trigger point dry needling’ (TDN). Certainly, IMT, or the insertion of needles into TrPs within muscle bellies, is one aspect of dry needling; however, IMT or TDN should not be used synonymously with the term dry needling. In addition to TrPs within muscular tissue, an extensive body of literature, including both peer reviewed articles and randomized controlled trials, supports the insertion of dry needles throughout the body at non-TrP sites for the purpose of reducing pain and disability in patients with neuromusculoskeletal conditions. Just as the Maitland, Kaltenborn, and McKenzie approaches are each unique brands of manual therapy, ‘TDN’ and ‘IMT’ are individual aspects of dry needling. Each describes a single framework, paradigm, or approach that falls under the much larger field of dry needling.

The paper is available here.