Back pain: types and treatments | 89.3 KPCC. This is an interview I did a couple years back, lots of fun, had a great time...
Tactical Mindfulness, awareness and calm
Tactical mindfulness, awareness and calm. Sounds pretty cools so far? Let's take the words apart so we can better understand.
Tactics: "Aiming at an end beyond the immediate action" "Adroit planning..." as in skillful use of hands or mind.
Mindfulness: Being focused and 'on point' with activities and thoughts at hand.
Awareness: Comprehension of aspects of mindfulness
Calm: The sense of ease.
Teaching meditation and mindfulness for nearly ten years I have worked with military, police, EMTs, paramedics, Nurses, and many that have to have 'it all together all the time" I have noticed working with these folks that they are dealing with different actions than most of us deal with in a given day, but the results are the same. They must act before reaction times allow. Don't we all do this? How bout when someone cuts you off on the road, what is your RE-action??? It is an emotional response in some preset way that can get you all kinds of suffering and upset.
In this session we will discuss personal tactics and how we can begin to change our inner strategy and develop a way to 'be like water'. Water never anticipates an action, it merely acts when appropriate. A small pebble makes a small wave, a boulder makes a large one. This is an essential aspect of our daily success in life itself. Like water, after the stone has splashed, the water again will soon become still and clear.
This is a sitting technique to just let things BE as the ARE, without judgement. Seems like regular meditation doesn't it? This is a little more self guided, we use some imagery and some rehearsal, just like in tactical training. What you practice is what you do. Here, though we wish to gradually develop compassion and wisdom instead of blind action. This process can give you extra time when things go asunder, when they seem to fall apart. Instead of re-acting, you ACT appropriately and instantaneously, going back to your calm SELF sooner, leaving that trouble behind and below...
Great for emergency workers and security forces where instant decisions mean so much. A wise and compassionate action will always be an improvement over an emotional or unprepared action. Think about that.
Some people have stress in everyday activities, not just those that obviously would cause us stress and tension. Stress of a given activity can be interpreted and perceived differently by different people.
What we are looking at here... General Anxiety Disorder or also Social Affect Disorder, and other names for stress related to everyday events. That stress, drop by drop, has over flowed its brim.
I have now combined guided meditation and acupuncture to help people with anxiety, worry, stress, angst. confusion, panic attacks, freak outs, mental disturbances, and others. How? with age old techniques. This treatment in no way will hamper other therapies, in fact it will make them more efficient. This treatment will not get you off your medication directly, but it will help your medicines work better and eventually your dosages will have to be changed. You WILL get benefit with practice. You have been practicing stress long enough, isn't it time to practice healing and wholeness??
Acupuncture has a very specific set of points that can change person to person for stress, anxiety, depression, worry, and panic disorders. Once we have determined the pattern you are in, this therapy does not help you identify the cause but instead realize and acknowledge the process and stop it before it ramps up to a full-blown episode. With a few treatments you can start to feel calm much more of the time, feel balanced, centered and in control. Therapy will give you the why’s we work on HOW you are going to manage and get through it, effectively.
How the acupuncture will help. 1. It will harmonize the 'Chi' energy that flows throughout and around your body. 2. You must consciously 'tune' into each point as it is stimulated or tonified. This will help you make a good contact with your whole body. 3. The points used will help the organs to work better together and send information through the Vagus nerve that you ARE relaxed and calm.
How the meditation will help. 1. You will follow the breath and body, this will have a centering and calming effect on the mind and the coordination of the mind and the bodily action will help you be more'in tune'. That will help you see (feel) an anxiety attack, panic attack, or feeling of un-ease sooner and enable you to use the techniques I teach you to stop it and calm back down. 2. You will begin to understand through the practice that you CAN control your physiology and make a difference in your life moment by moment. 3. You will begin to feel more and more confident in your dealings with your anxiety on a day to day and even moment by moment basis.
Check out our website for more: www.thenaturalbodyworks.com
The course of treatment lasts four months (about half the time of a medication regime). Twice a week meditation and acupuncture in a safe, calm relaxing environment with an anchoring essential oil formula you can take with you. The meditation practice will start with tuning into your body while in an acupuncture treatment session, appreciating and really understanding what it IS to BE relaxed. Guided meditation, specific to YOU is offered along with techniques to use at home and work to enhance the benefit of being HERE NOW…
Tactics: "Aiming at an end beyond the immediate action" "Adroit planning..." as in skillful use of hands or mind.
Mindfulness: Being focused and 'on point' with activities and thoughts at hand.
Awareness: Comprehension of aspects of mindfulness
Calm: The sense of ease.
Teaching meditation and mindfulness for nearly ten years I have worked with military, police, EMTs, paramedics, Nurses, and many that have to have 'it all together all the time" I have noticed working with these folks that they are dealing with different actions than most of us deal with in a given day, but the results are the same. They must act before reaction times allow. Don't we all do this? How bout when someone cuts you off on the road, what is your RE-action??? It is an emotional response in some preset way that can get you all kinds of suffering and upset.
In this session we will discuss personal tactics and how we can begin to change our inner strategy and develop a way to 'be like water'. Water never anticipates an action, it merely acts when appropriate. A small pebble makes a small wave, a boulder makes a large one. This is an essential aspect of our daily success in life itself. Like water, after the stone has splashed, the water again will soon become still and clear.
This is a sitting technique to just let things BE as the ARE, without judgement. Seems like regular meditation doesn't it? This is a little more self guided, we use some imagery and some rehearsal, just like in tactical training. What you practice is what you do. Here, though we wish to gradually develop compassion and wisdom instead of blind action. This process can give you extra time when things go asunder, when they seem to fall apart. Instead of re-acting, you ACT appropriately and instantaneously, going back to your calm SELF sooner, leaving that trouble behind and below...
Great for emergency workers and security forces where instant decisions mean so much. A wise and compassionate action will always be an improvement over an emotional or unprepared action. Think about that.
Some people have stress in everyday activities, not just those that obviously would cause us stress and tension. Stress of a given activity can be interpreted and perceived differently by different people.
What we are looking at here... General Anxiety Disorder or also Social Affect Disorder, and other names for stress related to everyday events. That stress, drop by drop, has over flowed its brim.
I have now combined guided meditation and acupuncture to help people with anxiety, worry, stress, angst. confusion, panic attacks, freak outs, mental disturbances, and others. How? with age old techniques. This treatment in no way will hamper other therapies, in fact it will make them more efficient. This treatment will not get you off your medication directly, but it will help your medicines work better and eventually your dosages will have to be changed. You WILL get benefit with practice. You have been practicing stress long enough, isn't it time to practice healing and wholeness??
Meditation training and acupuncture for anxiety, panic attacks, stress, and worry…
Acupuncture treatments are well-known to facilitate relaxation and whole body harmony. Meditation can enhance the effectiveness of that effect as well as train you to see anxiety rising in your body and give you effective and realistic tools to stop it in its tracks. We find that worry, stress, and anxiety are common in today’s world. We also have discovered that if you practice being upset, worried, or stressed you will automatically ‘go there’ when something occurs that is either out of your control or not what you wanted at the time. Meditation PRACTICE allows us and trains us to see and be in the world in this present moment and to become aware of the changes in our minds and bodies. With this powerful practice we can better control and guide our minds to live the life we want and deserve. Not to become a slave to our ‘gut’.Acupuncture has a very specific set of points that can change person to person for stress, anxiety, depression, worry, and panic disorders. Once we have determined the pattern you are in, this therapy does not help you identify the cause but instead realize and acknowledge the process and stop it before it ramps up to a full-blown episode. With a few treatments you can start to feel calm much more of the time, feel balanced, centered and in control. Therapy will give you the why’s we work on HOW you are going to manage and get through it, effectively.
How the acupuncture will help. 1. It will harmonize the 'Chi' energy that flows throughout and around your body. 2. You must consciously 'tune' into each point as it is stimulated or tonified. This will help you make a good contact with your whole body. 3. The points used will help the organs to work better together and send information through the Vagus nerve that you ARE relaxed and calm.
How the meditation will help. 1. You will follow the breath and body, this will have a centering and calming effect on the mind and the coordination of the mind and the bodily action will help you be more'in tune'. That will help you see (feel) an anxiety attack, panic attack, or feeling of un-ease sooner and enable you to use the techniques I teach you to stop it and calm back down. 2. You will begin to understand through the practice that you CAN control your physiology and make a difference in your life moment by moment. 3. You will begin to feel more and more confident in your dealings with your anxiety on a day to day and even moment by moment basis.
Check out our website for more: www.thenaturalbodyworks.com
The course of treatment lasts four months (about half the time of a medication regime). Twice a week meditation and acupuncture in a safe, calm relaxing environment with an anchoring essential oil formula you can take with you. The meditation practice will start with tuning into your body while in an acupuncture treatment session, appreciating and really understanding what it IS to BE relaxed. Guided meditation, specific to YOU is offered along with techniques to use at home and work to enhance the benefit of being HERE NOW…
Phone: 720- 325 9886
Address: 12539 N. Highway 83, Unit B
Parker
Colorado 80134
Here is the text for the Gall
Bladder cleanse, you can also see it on my blog https://drseanthompson.wordpress.com/...
The information in these videos
are for education only, there is no intent to diagnose, treat or render an
opinion. Any incidental diagrams,
drawings, music, video, or other recording are used under the copyright fair
use for education and or satire. Use
your own brain, go see a qualified provider if there is any question…
Not responsible for you, you are.
#chiropractor
#chiropractic
#acupuncture
#acupuncturist
#health
#backpain
#migraine
#holistic
#naturalbodyworks
#instachiropractor
#subluxation
Meditation and acupuncture a match made in heaven.
Meditation training and acupuncture for anxiety, panic attacks, stress, and worry…
Acupuncture has a very specific set of points that can change person to person for stress, anxiety, depression, worry, and panic disorders. Once we have determined the pattern you are in, this therapy does not help you identify the cause but instead realize and acknowledge the process and stop it before it ramps up to a full-blown episode. With a few treatments you can start to feel calm much more of the time, feel balanced, centered and in control. Therapy will give you the why’s we work on HOW you are going to manage and get through it, effectively.
How the acupuncture will help. 1. It will harmonize the 'Chi' energy that flows throughout and around your body. 2. You must consciously 'tune' into each point as it is stimulated or tonified. This will help you make a good contact with your whole body. 3. The points used will help the organs to work better together and send information through the Vagus nerve that you ARE relaxed and calm.
How the meditation will help. 1. You will follow the breath and body, this will have a centering and calming effect on the mind and the coordination of the mind and the bodily action will help you be more'in tune'. That will help you see (feel) an anxiety attack, panic attack, or feeling of un-ease sooner and enable you to use the techniques I teach you to stop it and calm back down. 2. You will begin to understand through the practice that you CAN control your physiology and make a difference in your life moment by moment. 3. You will begin to feel more and more confident in your dealings with your anxiety on a day to day and even moment by moment basis.
The course of treatment lasts four months (about half the time of a medication regime). Twice a week meditation and acupuncture in a safe, calm relaxing environment with an anchoring essential oil formula you can take with you. The meditation practice will start with tuning into your body while in an acupuncture treatment session, appreciating and really understanding what it IS to BE relaxed. Guided meditation, specific to YOU is offered along with techniques to use at home and work to enhance the benefit of being HERE NOW…
One of the best things about meditation and acupuncture is that they help each other work better. Acupuncture is designed to get you to relax, to slow down that sympathetic system of fight or flight and enhance or wake up the parasympathetic system of rest... Meditation training tries to do the same thing, but when you have them both they are stronger.
Phone: 720- 325 9886
Address: 12539 N. Highway 83, Unit B
Parker
Colorado 80134
Here is the text for the Gall
Bladder cleanse, you can also see it on my blog https://drseanthompson.wordpress.com/...
The information in these videos
are for education only, there is no intent to diagnose, treat or render an
opinion. Any incidental diagrams,
drawings, music, video, or other recording are used under the copyright fair
use for education and or satire. Use
your own brain, go see a qualified provider if there is any question…
Not responsible for you, you are.
#chiropractor
#chiropractic
#acupuncture
#acupuncturist
#health
#backpain
#migraine
#holistic
#naturalbodyworks
#instachiropractor
#subluxation
Back pain and the disc injury.
Back pain can have many causes, sometimes it is the disc. The disc is a cushioning cartilage between each of the spine bones called vertebrae. The disc has a unique structure and is designed to take lots of pressure and other stresses. Occasionally there can be swelling and even tears in that cartilage. Here is some information for you and how you can help determine your best course of action. Don't always believe the doctor that sees you, remember they are selling you SOMETHING... a drug, a shot, a treatment plan, a SURGERY... and we all know we can buy stuff we don't really need. In this case that can be a life long problem... buyer beware!
Natural BodyWorks website.
Natural BodyWorks Youtube videos
https://youtu.be/d_PHcWJrmNQ
Natural BodyWorks website.
Natural BodyWorks Youtube videos
Back pain and
sciatica: Now here is my
territory! I have helped many stay off
the surgeon’s table with the combination of chiropractic, acupuncture and home
exercise (stretching). I want to do this for you too. Back pain is going to
affect 80% of us at one point in our lives.
I have seen too many choose surgery before trying chiropractic or
acupuncture. As a chiropractor back pain is a mainstay treatment for us. It is something that I treat every day. Let’s be real though, not everyone can
benefit from just a few visits, and healing takes time. Acupuncture treatments usually go about 20
minutes at a time and about twice a week for about five weeks offer the best
results. However, make SURE you are set
up for maintenance to help keep your spine in alignment. Check out these
articles below if you want to geek out on this like I do. Acupuncture is only $60 a visit, and to make
it even better, we have plans that make the per-visit charge even cheaper. Probably a good investment to feel more
normal. We offer combination treatments (Chiropractic and acupuncture), only
$75 each or we have special schedule pricing to reduce costs and have you
feeling better quicker. Call or text for
an appointment 720-325-9886
Website: https://www.thenaturalbodyworks.com
Discus: https://discus.com/by/rev_sean
Phone: 720- 325 9886
Address: 12539 N. Highway 83, Unit B
Parker
Colorado 80134
Here is the text for the Gall
Bladder cleanse, you can also see it on my blog https://drseanthompson.wordpress.com/...
The information in these videos
are for education only, there is no intent to diagnose, treat or render an
opinion. Any incidental diagrams,
drawings, music, video, or other recording are used under the copyright fair
use for education and or satire. Use
your own brain, go see a qualified provider if there is any question…
Not responsible for you, you are.
#chiropractor
#chiropractic
#acupuncture
#acupuncturist
#health
#backpain
#migraine
#holistic
#naturalbodyworks
#instachiropractor
#subluxation
Ready for a detox and cleanse?
Hacks and tricks for your next detox...
People come in asking about cleanses. When it comes to the liver I always use this picture (the whole scene really) as a good example of how the liver can work.
In this scene Lucy and Ethel get a job boxing chocolates... (think of them as the liver itself, sorting and packaging toxins and nutrients correctly to be either used, stored or excreted...) In the process they become overwhelmed by the amount of chocolates on the conveyor belt. This results in a hilarious thought process on Lucy and Ethel's part in that they put them in their pockets, down their shirts and in their mouths to keep them from going off the conveyor... (think of this as the liver, if overwhelmed, will store the toxins in fat, or keep it in circulation where it can irritate the other tissues. Now, keep in mind the liver is an amazing machine that sorts and coordinates the distribution of nutrients and toxins. It is an amazing detoxifying laboratory and makes many of the things our bodies need to keep healthy... It is also a store house for sugars and vitamins we need. The idea to take from this is that when your system is overloaded or that your 'liver' does not work as well it can cause havoc and build up toxins in fat tissue that CANNOT be released until there is enough time and such for the liver. Clean out your conveyor belt by doing a fast, cleanse the colon and small intestine... it will get everything out of the system for a time and let the liver catch up. Do a liver cleanse (empty those pockets Lucy!) and clean up. A full cleanse takes time, but intermittent breaks are a great way to give the whole system a rest and improve its effectiveness.
Message me for a weekend cleanse plan. It is easy, promise...
Check out my video on cleanse hacks here: https://youtu.be/Ax8cmch_usY
Dr. Sean’s Combo Cleanse…
Cleanse: If you want, do any of the steps for three days, but stagger them, at least one day. So Day 1, salad, Day 2 salad AND bowel cleanse, Day 3 Salad, bowel cleanse AND Gall bladder cleanse. You can use the master cleanse throughout or do it at another time.
- Larger roughage salad, kale, celery, spinach, okra, anything with LOTS of fiber. This is something you have to CHEW a lot… it stimulates the whole digestive system to work and gets the parasympathetic nervous system a boost. This will help you relax actually… The next steps won’t… lol.. The idea is that with chewing you stimulate the entire digestive system to start up. This gets the part of your nervous system (the parasympathetic) to work, secreting mucus throughout the system, creating enzymes, and special secretions for the food. Add nuts too that way you really have to work out the jaw. I buy a big family size variety pack from the store. No reason to get all organic yet but that is an option. Juicing, although nice. Is not an option for this cleanse…
- OR: DO this broth and Veggie stew. Very rich in minerals. Get one of every vegetable you can find that grows UNDER ground. Beets, Carrots, Potato, Parsnips, Celery root, Rutabagas, etc… set in a large pot with LOTS of water, bring to boil and then simmer for up to an hour. All the vegetables will likely be mash but it is the water that you want. Eat those veggies with light seasoning for each of the days and drink the broth… all of it…
- Next day…. Bowel cleanse… (eat the salad or ‘stew’ as well today) Think of how many times a day you have a bowel movement. Go for three times that much over a day or up to three to really clean out. Think of how much food you eat each sitting, a handful? Two? Three? You should at least be releasing half that right? There are five OPTIONS choose one or two or do them on separate days… If they are strong, be careful with the dosage, it just makes the whole bowel release and it can be a doozy if you are not near easy access to the restroom. You have been warned… LOL (I speak from experience) Here they are listed from easiest to most aggressive.
- Senna tea: not as strong as the Cascara, you can use this frequently. This one is good for kids too.
- Vitamin C… 2,000 mg, then follow with 250 to 500 mg each hour until you get results. This is a good one if you are just hanging out at home. It is not too dramatic but release can be pretty voluminous.
- Cascara sagrada tea: This is strong, be prepared. It is a smooth muscle stimulant. You will get lots of gurgling and maybe even some cramping. That means it is working. Be strong, and fast.
- Magnesium Citrate: Get it at the drug store, strong too, but dosed well. Usually lemon flavored. This is well measured, the Epsom salt listed below is variable and more ‘powerful’.
- Epsom Salts: drink in your least favorite juice… You will know why later. This is STRONG… read label on carton for more. Can get results within half an hour…
- Gall Bladder cleanse, do a day of the bowel cleanse first… So this day, have the salad or stew, also do the bowel cleanse and THIS.
- Get ¼ cup olive oil…
- Get ¼ cup lemon juice. Real is best, but do what you can.
- Mix and drink it ½ hour before bed. Lie on RIGHT side.
- Although some have more release from the bowel, and sometimes foamy, or ‘different’ some have no change at all. You may feel tingling or gurgling in the gut especially when lying on the right side. This is the gall bladder emptying. This will help get the liver to move bile through and clean itself out.
- You can also do the Master Cleanse at the same time… I modify it… Here is how. I make a bunch a head of time and drink it over the next few days. Can use it AS ‘the cleanse’ too if you do not take any food during that time. Can use up to 20 days with food or 10 without…
- 16oz water
- One teaspoon chlorophyll (good for liver) (OPTIONAL)
- Ginger (good for liver and gut) Juice or grated and juiced… about ½ teaspoon. (OPTIONAL)
- One teaspoon maple syrup (grade B is best) Or can use Black strap molasses (it has more minerals)
- 1/10th teaspoon cayenne pepper.
- Juice of 1 lemon or two tablespoons of Apple cider vinegar.
Other things you can do is to get cupping done while and after your cleanse. It helps to displace fluids like the lymph which can inadvertently hold on to toxins and not easily let them go. Movement of the muscles as well as breathing is what moves the lymph fluid around so it can get back to the circulation and be processed. 
Phone: 720- 325 9886
Address: 12539 N. Highway 83, Unit B
Parker
Colorado 80134
Here is the text for the Gall
Bladder cleanse, you can also see it on my blog https://drseanthompson.wordpress.com/...
The information in these videos
are for education only, there is no intent to diagnose, treat or render an
opinion. Any incidental diagrams,
drawings, music, video, or other recording are used under the copyright fair
use for education and or satire. Use
your own brain, go see a qualified provider if there is any question…
Not responsible for you, you are.
#chiropractor
#chiropractic
#acupuncture
#acupuncturist
#health
#backpain
#migraine
#holistic
#naturalbodyworks
#instachiropractor
#subluxation
Dry Needling and Acupuncture, the real difference.
Video: difference between acupuncture and dryneedling
The difference between acupuncture and dry needling.
A historical and practical application.
Key words: Dry Needle, Acupuncture, Motor point needling, Ashi acupuncture, Tsubo acupuncture, Trigger point, Deqi, Meridian, Spasm, Fasciculation, adverse reaction, myofascial pain,
Acupuncture: “Technique for treating certain painful conditions and for producing regional anesthesia by passing long thin needles through the skin to specific points. The free ends of the needles are twirled or in some cases used to conduct a weak electric current. Anesthesia sufficient to permit abdominal, Thoracic, and head and neck surgery has been produced by the use of acupuncture alone. The patient is fully conscious during the surgery. Acupuncture as a method of medical investigation (but not for anesthesia) has been known in the Far East for centuries. But received little attention in Western cultures until the 1970’s.” (Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, 16th Edition, 1989)
The online Miriam-Webster dictionary lists acupuncture as: “An originally ancient Chinese practice of inserting fine needles through the skin at specific points especially to cure or relieve pain (as in surgery).”
To understand it, let’s take the word acupuncture and dissect that; Acus, in Latin means ‘needle’, and puncture (common English) is to pierce. This term was coined in the 1700s and continues to be used today.
Acupuncture as we know it now is the application of filiform needles (without any tube to deliver liquid). These needles are sterile, generally blister packed and designed to be disposed of. The points that they are inserted in are very specific and have been largely agreed upon for thousands of years. Each of these points has been organized into meridian lines which correspond with a functional organ of the body. Basically, there are, in some cases over 1,000 points, but it is common to study about 365 points along 12 meridians. There are also special points that are not on those meridians but generally align with nerves.
As for spasm treatment, acupuncture and dry needling are very similar, in fact nearly identical. When I was in Japan, I did some training with a physiotherapist that happened to be an acupuncturist. He showed me a technique he simply called ‘Ashi’ (basically means ‘ouch’). The point of pain, as indicated by the patient and confirmed by the practitioner as a tight muscle with point tenderness (basically a trigger point) was used as the location of a larger diameter needle until it twitched or the patient felt what is called ‘De-qi’ or “Daychee”. De-qi is the excitation of the point releasing or moving the energy. It is a feeling by the patient of warmth, soreness, ache, distention, heaviness, dull pain and even a sensation of ‘energy’ by the patient. This can be quite substantial and is always a good sign that the point was, in fact, located. Occasionally the patient will feel sharp pain, usually described as a pinch or poke. This is an obvious sign of being poked with a needle and I do not consider it a good indicator of anything except possibly anxiety or a basically functional nervous system in the area.
Dry Needling: A newer term (not found in my Taber’s Cyclopedic Dictionary, 1989) Has also been called trigger point needling, myofascial needling, medical acupuncture and others. Initial research finds mention of it by Dr. Janet Travell. She was the modern founder of the trigger point therapy techniques.
It is also commonly held by practitioners in the West that Dry Needling has no ties to acupuncture historically, this, however is only partly true. Dr. Travel and others were using hypodermic needles to inject areas of muscle spasm as early as the 1940’s. The common fluid (medicine) injected as either Lidocaine, Novocain, and more commonly corticosteroids, sometimes even saline may be used as a counter irritant.
Dry Needling according to the National Institute of Health is; ‘dry needling is a skilled intervention that uses a thin filiform needle to penetrate the skin and stimulate underlying myofascial trigger points, muscular, and connective tissues for the management of neuromusculoskeletal pain and movement impairments’ Ref: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4117383/
In the 1970s it had been discovered that stimulation of the trigger point or spasm occurred even without injection of the medication at times. This stimulation and result came to be known as the ‘twitch response’. It could be created without anything in the needle at all, thus, ‘dry needle’ was coined.
It was found that the results of dry needle and wet needle were actually comparable and acceptable to both the provider and patient. There were no side effects nor problems with the medications.
Some of these side effects of using a medication for injection are; bleeding at the site of injection, increased pain, headaches, sleepiness, fever, high blood sugar, decrease in immunity because of suppressive effects of steroids, anxiety, stomach ulcers, avascular necrosis (death of the bone because the steroid interfered with blood flow), infection, cataracts…
Side effects of dry needling are similar to those of acupuncture and include; bleeding, ache, or pain at the site after treatment. Infection is also possible although extremely rare as in wet needling. As long as either practitioner uses good prep and disposal there is little concern for infection.
Notice that with the acupuncture and dry needling there are no ‘other’ symptoms related to an injectable substance because there is nothing injected and therefore no artificially provided biochemical change.
The attempt to separate:
Currently there is a turf war over this technique and its definition. Physiotherapists, medical doctors, physical therapists, chiropractors and acupuncturists are all vying for reimbursement from insurance companies. The reimbursement is always related to the specific definition of a condition and the treatment.
So each of the types of providers have a stake in the claim and do not want the others to have that patient base and ability to bill for a specific procedure. Therefore we have the definition wars. Each of the provider types have different, even if slightly, definitions of dry needing and acupuncture. This ensures (according to each of them) professionalism, accuracy, and technique boundaries. A simple web search will show this to be true.
In reality there is some difference in the practice but only in definition. We see words like twisting vs. rotation of a needle or ‘pistoning’ as a way to explain a needle manipulation of pushing and pulling the needle. Each of these are well defined and designed to be specific. Some of the definitions, including that of dry needling itself have been because of research articles written in each of the prospective practitioners’ journals. Once you start to really look and read the techniques, whether Eastern or Wester are, by and large the same.
The difference in practice:
So, the difference between acupuncture and dry needling is the topic here and that is what we need to focus on. In acupuncture, as it is largely practiced, deals with subtle energy and the flow of that energy as perceived by the practitioner not the patient (objective finding). Few patients will arrive complaining of a ‘slippery pulse’ in the spleen meridian. This is a rather typical finding in acupuncture used by a well-trained and proficient acupuncturist.
Having a muscle spasm is something that is both subjective and objective inspection. Having a spasm or ‘ashi’ point is in fact a part of acupuncture and is treatable with shallow needle work. Acupuncture generally goes to a depth of less than 1” (cun=body inch as indicated by the width of the patient’s thumb on their body). Since most spasms people complain of are on the back, it stands to reason that also the needling in those areas will be shallow (less than 1 cun). Of course this is only if the needle is inserted perpendicular to the surface. Angled insertion can go in much further.
There is no difference in the needles themselves. Unless the practitioner is using ‘real’ dry needling and wasting an entire syringe to do the work of a regular filiform needle. Acupuncture or dry needling needles come in various lengths. In my practice I use needles that are between 5 mm. in length (usually for hand, fingers, toes and facial acupuncture up to 125 mm. (that is about 5”, used at an angle mostly or in people with significant subcutaneous fat. This way I can get to the muscle tissue). Somewhere in the middle of that range is the length for acupuncture needles by any given practitioner. Some prefer shorter or longer depending on depth needed and technique.
Another measurement of the needles is the diameter. In my office I use a very thin .18 mm (about 2-3x the thickness of a human hair from the head) (Ref. http://www.schwarzkopf.com/en/hair-care/split-ends/hair-dictionary.html) to .60 of a mm. This of course also is related to the length, a thin needle that is too long is flimsy and difficult to manage. One that is too thick but short not only looks imposing but also unable to perform the needed manipulations in the muscle or deeper tissues it is designed for. However, taking a hypodermic needle diameter, they are generally measured in gauge. Typically from about 16 to 29 gauge. That is about 1.6 mm to .30 mm (the larger the gauge the smaller the needle) this is at its largest size (.30mm or 16 gauge) is the size of needle I prefer for most muscular dry needling. I often show people that I can put a few of my regular acupuncture needles inside a hypodermic needle. Most patients also relate this to possible perceived pain and helps with anxiety about getting the procedure. A smaller diameter needle will go in easier, a larger one will be more difficult to insert and will be felt by the patient more.
Sterile?
Patients ask me if the needles I use are sterile. Today, the needles are manufactured at plants that may also make other medical grade instruments. Mainly as I have seen needles are sterile when they are made and come in blister packs of one to ten needles. Each needle is stainless steel and some are covered in silicone to make insertion easier. All the needles are intended to be disposed of after a single use. A single use is generally per patient but may also be single insertion depending on the technique and need of the situation. In history, since metal is very difficult to come by and manufacture, a single needle was used and used again on other patients. Boiling the needle to clean or with cleaners such as alcohol or fire have been used. Previously to that the needle was rubbed on the hair of the practitioner to clean. Sebum, the oil released by the sebaceous glands at each hair follicle is generally antiseptic and this was understood hundreds of years ago. (Note, in the West and the world, penicillin was not discovered or used until the 1940s.) So in brief, the needles are sterile, they are used once and disposed of. This is true of syringe needles and acupuncture or dry needling needles. This way, we can reduce the possibility of infection.
Dry needle theory:
Dry needling as explained using the filiform needles is as follows. There are a couple different theories and I will try to combine and explain in as little space as possible. First, there is the blood as an irritant theory. When a needle is pushed into the muscle tissue there is bleeding. This causes an inflammatory response including heparin, histamine and other chemical inflammation mediators. This attracts white blood cells to start a repair process. Many times, the chronic spasm has been ‘forgotten’ by the system. Likely this is because it was a constant and consistent set of impulses to the central nervous system that eventually became ‘background noise’ or was eventually ignored as an alarm and became a ‘normal’ action of that set of muscle fibers. The new injury from the needling caused a whole new alarm and set of steps to evaluate and fix the issue. This is also why people generally can feel achy for a day or so after the treatment. Not at the points of insertion necessarily but in the muscle treated overall.
Other theories go into inflammation response, the twitch response, muscle spindle or Golgi tendon organ stimulation etc. I have only outlined the basic most accepted reasoning.
This of course is not to diminish the work of acupuncture as it is done on the meridian points. Dry needling does not generally follow the specificity of the acupuncture points and may go far off a meridian line into a belly of a muscle elsewhere. This is the real only difference in the technique unless you are doing the ‘ashi’ style.
Trigger points have to be understood as well in this discussion. Dr. Travel and others found that there were two types of trigger points; latent and active. Active ones had referral pain that not always followed the nerve path, but did stick to the general myotome or dermatome. Latent ones were there when you palpated them but may not have symptoms otherwise. Once a trigger point, also commonly called knots or tsubos (Tsubos are tight points along the meridians in Japanese techniques. Ref: Tsubo, Vital Points for Oriental Therapy, by Katsusuke Serizawa, M.D.) are areas of increased tension in the set of muscle fibers. This blocks off incoming blood flow including nutrients like glucose, oxygen and water to the cells so that they can run properly. The tightness also reduces the release from the area of waste products such as lactic acid, carbonic acid, cellular debris and other products of cellular metabolism. To better understand this, please read about the pain spasm cycle for more detail.
Once the needle pierces the proper point on the muscle belly a twitch can be observed. This twitch is a good indicator that the muscle has held too much tension and is giving a release of physical, chemical and energetic tension. Other good signs are the ‘red flash’, a redness around the needle indicating a proper inflammation response. The duration and circumference of the red flash spot is an indicator of general function of the whole body and area being treated. Another sign it is working is the feeling of a deep ache or cramp by the patient in the treated muscle. This feeling will go away with some manipulation of the needle and will help the patient regain a communication with the area of treatment neurologically and consciously. Of course much of that is speculative and subjective. This is why acupuncture and dry needling do not react the same on every patient or even the same patient every time. Thinking holistically we have to also consider physical, physiological, psychological, environmental, cultural and even social aspects of the stress response and how the treatment will work. Many would simply write this all off to the placebo effect. We must also keep in mind that the placebo effect is present in every procedure that the patient is conscious and can be molded by all the expectations and suggestions involving the topics as listed above.
This brings us to the real difference between dry needling and acupuncture. Since traditionally performed acupuncture relies on insertion of needles into specific points called meridian points or acupuncture points and dry needling does not it stands that they are very different. Dry needling concerns itself with muscular pain and tension and may have points used not on the meridian system. However, taking into consideration the numerous ‘special points’ or exceptional points or whatever you would like to call them and that acupuncture does and has used needles to relieve spasm for over two millennia we are at an impasse. The dry needling practitioner does not need to know the meridians. Only knowledge of muscles, some physiology and general anatomy along with some palpation skill is needed by the dry needle practitioner. The acupuncturist may have knowledge of the meridians and the points but lack the palpation skills or musculoskeletal knowledge of the physiotherapist or chiropractor. Somewhere between the two we will find the answer. A practitioner of either sort would benefit from study of the other to enhance their skills and service to the public.
So, in my opinion, the only difference is the desired outcome by the practitioner. There is little to no real dry needling with a syringe done anymore. So I would venture to say dry needling is a part of acupuncture that was renamed for convenience. Call it what you will, the result is the goal. Pain free patients that can go about their daily lives in comfort.
The difference between acupuncture and dry needling.
A historical and practical application.
Key words: Dry Needle, Acupuncture, Motor point needling, Ashi acupuncture, Tsubo acupuncture, Trigger point, Deqi, Meridian, Spasm, Fasciculation, adverse reaction, myofascial pain,
Acupuncture: “Technique for treating certain painful conditions and for producing regional anesthesia by passing long thin needles through the skin to specific points. The free ends of the needles are twirled or in some cases used to conduct a weak electric current. Anesthesia sufficient to permit abdominal, Thoracic, and head and neck surgery has been produced by the use of acupuncture alone. The patient is fully conscious during the surgery. Acupuncture as a method of medical investigation (but not for anesthesia) has been known in the Far East for centuries. But received little attention in Western cultures until the 1970’s.” (Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, 16th Edition, 1989)
The online Miriam-Webster dictionary lists acupuncture as: “An originally ancient Chinese practice of inserting fine needles through the skin at specific points especially to cure or relieve pain (as in surgery).”
To understand it, let’s take the word acupuncture and dissect that; Acus, in Latin means ‘needle’, and puncture (common English) is to pierce. This term was coined in the 1700s and continues to be used today.
Acupuncture as we know it now is the application of filiform needles (without any tube to deliver liquid). These needles are sterile, generally blister packed and designed to be disposed of. The points that they are inserted in are very specific and have been largely agreed upon for thousands of years. Each of these points has been organized into meridian lines which correspond with a functional organ of the body. Basically, there are, in some cases over 1,000 points, but it is common to study about 365 points along 12 meridians. There are also special points that are not on those meridians but generally align with nerves.
As for spasm treatment, acupuncture and dry needling are very similar, in fact nearly identical. When I was in Japan, I did some training with a physiotherapist that happened to be an acupuncturist. He showed me a technique he simply called ‘Ashi’ (basically means ‘ouch’). The point of pain, as indicated by the patient and confirmed by the practitioner as a tight muscle with point tenderness (basically a trigger point) was used as the location of a larger diameter needle until it twitched or the patient felt what is called ‘De-qi’ or “Daychee”. De-qi is the excitation of the point releasing or moving the energy. It is a feeling by the patient of warmth, soreness, ache, distention, heaviness, dull pain and even a sensation of ‘energy’ by the patient. This can be quite substantial and is always a good sign that the point was, in fact, located. Occasionally the patient will feel sharp pain, usually described as a pinch or poke. This is an obvious sign of being poked with a needle and I do not consider it a good indicator of anything except possibly anxiety or a basically functional nervous system in the area.
Dry Needling: A newer term (not found in my Taber’s Cyclopedic Dictionary, 1989) Has also been called trigger point needling, myofascial needling, medical acupuncture and others. Initial research finds mention of it by Dr. Janet Travell. She was the modern founder of the trigger point therapy techniques.
It is also commonly held by practitioners in the West that Dry Needling has no ties to acupuncture historically, this, however is only partly true. Dr. Travel and others were using hypodermic needles to inject areas of muscle spasm as early as the 1940’s. The common fluid (medicine) injected as either Lidocaine, Novocain, and more commonly corticosteroids, sometimes even saline may be used as a counter irritant.
Dry Needling according to the National Institute of Health is; ‘dry needling is a skilled intervention that uses a thin filiform needle to penetrate the skin and stimulate underlying myofascial trigger points, muscular, and connective tissues for the management of neuromusculoskeletal pain and movement impairments’ Ref: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4117383/
In the 1970s it had been discovered that stimulation of the trigger point or spasm occurred even without injection of the medication at times. This stimulation and result came to be known as the ‘twitch response’. It could be created without anything in the needle at all, thus, ‘dry needle’ was coined.
It was found that the results of dry needle and wet needle were actually comparable and acceptable to both the provider and patient. There were no side effects nor problems with the medications.
Some of these side effects of using a medication for injection are; bleeding at the site of injection, increased pain, headaches, sleepiness, fever, high blood sugar, decrease in immunity because of suppressive effects of steroids, anxiety, stomach ulcers, avascular necrosis (death of the bone because the steroid interfered with blood flow), infection, cataracts…
Side effects of dry needling are similar to those of acupuncture and include; bleeding, ache, or pain at the site after treatment. Infection is also possible although extremely rare as in wet needling. As long as either practitioner uses good prep and disposal there is little concern for infection.
Notice that with the acupuncture and dry needling there are no ‘other’ symptoms related to an injectable substance because there is nothing injected and therefore no artificially provided biochemical change.
The attempt to separate:
Currently there is a turf war over this technique and its definition. Physiotherapists, medical doctors, physical therapists, chiropractors and acupuncturists are all vying for reimbursement from insurance companies. The reimbursement is always related to the specific definition of a condition and the treatment.
So each of the types of providers have a stake in the claim and do not want the others to have that patient base and ability to bill for a specific procedure. Therefore we have the definition wars. Each of the provider types have different, even if slightly, definitions of dry needing and acupuncture. This ensures (according to each of them) professionalism, accuracy, and technique boundaries. A simple web search will show this to be true.
In reality there is some difference in the practice but only in definition. We see words like twisting vs. rotation of a needle or ‘pistoning’ as a way to explain a needle manipulation of pushing and pulling the needle. Each of these are well defined and designed to be specific. Some of the definitions, including that of dry needling itself have been because of research articles written in each of the prospective practitioners’ journals. Once you start to really look and read the techniques, whether Eastern or Wester are, by and large the same.
The difference in practice:
So, the difference between acupuncture and dry needling is the topic here and that is what we need to focus on. In acupuncture, as it is largely practiced, deals with subtle energy and the flow of that energy as perceived by the practitioner not the patient (objective finding). Few patients will arrive complaining of a ‘slippery pulse’ in the spleen meridian. This is a rather typical finding in acupuncture used by a well-trained and proficient acupuncturist.
Having a muscle spasm is something that is both subjective and objective inspection. Having a spasm or ‘ashi’ point is in fact a part of acupuncture and is treatable with shallow needle work. Acupuncture generally goes to a depth of less than 1” (cun=body inch as indicated by the width of the patient’s thumb on their body). Since most spasms people complain of are on the back, it stands to reason that also the needling in those areas will be shallow (less than 1 cun). Of course this is only if the needle is inserted perpendicular to the surface. Angled insertion can go in much further.
There is no difference in the needles themselves. Unless the practitioner is using ‘real’ dry needling and wasting an entire syringe to do the work of a regular filiform needle. Acupuncture or dry needling needles come in various lengths. In my practice I use needles that are between 5 mm. in length (usually for hand, fingers, toes and facial acupuncture up to 125 mm. (that is about 5”, used at an angle mostly or in people with significant subcutaneous fat. This way I can get to the muscle tissue). Somewhere in the middle of that range is the length for acupuncture needles by any given practitioner. Some prefer shorter or longer depending on depth needed and technique.
Another measurement of the needles is the diameter. In my office I use a very thin .18 mm (about 2-3x the thickness of a human hair from the head) (Ref. http://www.schwarzkopf.com/en/hair-care/split-ends/hair-dictionary.html) to .60 of a mm. This of course also is related to the length, a thin needle that is too long is flimsy and difficult to manage. One that is too thick but short not only looks imposing but also unable to perform the needed manipulations in the muscle or deeper tissues it is designed for. However, taking a hypodermic needle diameter, they are generally measured in gauge. Typically from about 16 to 29 gauge. That is about 1.6 mm to .30 mm (the larger the gauge the smaller the needle) this is at its largest size (.30mm or 16 gauge) is the size of needle I prefer for most muscular dry needling. I often show people that I can put a few of my regular acupuncture needles inside a hypodermic needle. Most patients also relate this to possible perceived pain and helps with anxiety about getting the procedure. A smaller diameter needle will go in easier, a larger one will be more difficult to insert and will be felt by the patient more.
Sterile?
Patients ask me if the needles I use are sterile. Today, the needles are manufactured at plants that may also make other medical grade instruments. Mainly as I have seen needles are sterile when they are made and come in blister packs of one to ten needles. Each needle is stainless steel and some are covered in silicone to make insertion easier. All the needles are intended to be disposed of after a single use. A single use is generally per patient but may also be single insertion depending on the technique and need of the situation. In history, since metal is very difficult to come by and manufacture, a single needle was used and used again on other patients. Boiling the needle to clean or with cleaners such as alcohol or fire have been used. Previously to that the needle was rubbed on the hair of the practitioner to clean. Sebum, the oil released by the sebaceous glands at each hair follicle is generally antiseptic and this was understood hundreds of years ago. (Note, in the West and the world, penicillin was not discovered or used until the 1940s.) So in brief, the needles are sterile, they are used once and disposed of. This is true of syringe needles and acupuncture or dry needling needles. This way, we can reduce the possibility of infection.
Dry needle theory:
Dry needling as explained using the filiform needles is as follows. There are a couple different theories and I will try to combine and explain in as little space as possible. First, there is the blood as an irritant theory. When a needle is pushed into the muscle tissue there is bleeding. This causes an inflammatory response including heparin, histamine and other chemical inflammation mediators. This attracts white blood cells to start a repair process. Many times, the chronic spasm has been ‘forgotten’ by the system. Likely this is because it was a constant and consistent set of impulses to the central nervous system that eventually became ‘background noise’ or was eventually ignored as an alarm and became a ‘normal’ action of that set of muscle fibers. The new injury from the needling caused a whole new alarm and set of steps to evaluate and fix the issue. This is also why people generally can feel achy for a day or so after the treatment. Not at the points of insertion necessarily but in the muscle treated overall.
Other theories go into inflammation response, the twitch response, muscle spindle or Golgi tendon organ stimulation etc. I have only outlined the basic most accepted reasoning.
This of course is not to diminish the work of acupuncture as it is done on the meridian points. Dry needling does not generally follow the specificity of the acupuncture points and may go far off a meridian line into a belly of a muscle elsewhere. This is the real only difference in the technique unless you are doing the ‘ashi’ style.
Trigger points have to be understood as well in this discussion. Dr. Travel and others found that there were two types of trigger points; latent and active. Active ones had referral pain that not always followed the nerve path, but did stick to the general myotome or dermatome. Latent ones were there when you palpated them but may not have symptoms otherwise. Once a trigger point, also commonly called knots or tsubos (Tsubos are tight points along the meridians in Japanese techniques. Ref: Tsubo, Vital Points for Oriental Therapy, by Katsusuke Serizawa, M.D.) are areas of increased tension in the set of muscle fibers. This blocks off incoming blood flow including nutrients like glucose, oxygen and water to the cells so that they can run properly. The tightness also reduces the release from the area of waste products such as lactic acid, carbonic acid, cellular debris and other products of cellular metabolism. To better understand this, please read about the pain spasm cycle for more detail.
Once the needle pierces the proper point on the muscle belly a twitch can be observed. This twitch is a good indicator that the muscle has held too much tension and is giving a release of physical, chemical and energetic tension. Other good signs are the ‘red flash’, a redness around the needle indicating a proper inflammation response. The duration and circumference of the red flash spot is an indicator of general function of the whole body and area being treated. Another sign it is working is the feeling of a deep ache or cramp by the patient in the treated muscle. This feeling will go away with some manipulation of the needle and will help the patient regain a communication with the area of treatment neurologically and consciously. Of course much of that is speculative and subjective. This is why acupuncture and dry needling do not react the same on every patient or even the same patient every time. Thinking holistically we have to also consider physical, physiological, psychological, environmental, cultural and even social aspects of the stress response and how the treatment will work. Many would simply write this all off to the placebo effect. We must also keep in mind that the placebo effect is present in every procedure that the patient is conscious and can be molded by all the expectations and suggestions involving the topics as listed above.
This brings us to the real difference between dry needling and acupuncture. Since traditionally performed acupuncture relies on insertion of needles into specific points called meridian points or acupuncture points and dry needling does not it stands that they are very different. Dry needling concerns itself with muscular pain and tension and may have points used not on the meridian system. However, taking into consideration the numerous ‘special points’ or exceptional points or whatever you would like to call them and that acupuncture does and has used needles to relieve spasm for over two millennia we are at an impasse. The dry needling practitioner does not need to know the meridians. Only knowledge of muscles, some physiology and general anatomy along with some palpation skill is needed by the dry needle practitioner. The acupuncturist may have knowledge of the meridians and the points but lack the palpation skills or musculoskeletal knowledge of the physiotherapist or chiropractor. Somewhere between the two we will find the answer. A practitioner of either sort would benefit from study of the other to enhance their skills and service to the public.
So, in my opinion, the only difference is the desired outcome by the practitioner. There is little to no real dry needling with a syringe done anymore. So I would venture to say dry needling is a part of acupuncture that was renamed for convenience. Call it what you will, the result is the goal. Pain free patients that can go about their daily lives in comfort.
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