Dry Needling vs Acupuncture, What Is the Difference in Texas?

If you have ever searched for dry needling vs acupuncture, you may have wondered what actually makes these treatments different. A physical therapist may offer dry needling, a chiropractor may offer acupuncture after completing additional training, and a Licensed Acupuncturist may practice acupuncture as part of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

To a patient, these treatments can look very similar however they are not the same. The needles may look similar, but the education behind them, the way the practitioner evaluates you, and the reason particular points are selected can be very different. One of the biggest differences is something most patients would never even know to ask about.

Is Dry Needling the Same as Acupuncture?

No. Dry needling and acupuncture both use thin needles, but they come from different treatment frameworks. Dry needling is generally used within physical therapy and focuses primarily on the musculoskeletal and neuromuscular systems. A practitioner may target a tight muscle, trigger point, painful area, or structure believed to be contributing to pain or movement dysfunction. Acupuncture is one part of a much larger system of medicine.

A practitioner trained in Chinese medicine may certainly treat the painful area, but we may also look at sleep, digestion, energy, stress, menstrual cycles, headaches, temperature, and other symptoms that may seem unrelated. Why? Because in Chinese medicine, we are not simply asking where you hurt. We are trying to understand the pattern your body is presenting.

What Is the Difference Between Dry Needling and Acupuncture?

One of the easiest ways to understand the difference is to look at how the practitioner decides where the needles should go. With dry needling, treatment commonly focuses on muscles, trigger points, pain, and movement dysfunction.

In Chinese medicine acupuncture, the painful area may only be one part of the treatment.

For example, someone may come to me because of chronic back pain. I may use acupuncture points around the back, but I may also select points on the legs, hands, feet, or other areas of the body. Those points are not randomly chosen.

They are selected according to the patient's individual presentation and the principles of Chinese medicine. This is one reason two people can come into my office with the exact same complaint and receive completely different acupuncture treatments.

Can Chiropractors Perform Acupuncture in Texas?

Yes, chiropractors can perform acupuncture in Texas when they meet the state's requirements for a chiropractic acupuncture permit. Texas requires a chiropractor seeking an acupuncture permit to complete at least 100 hours of acupuncture training and meet the applicable examination requirements. That is very different from being a Texas Licensed Acupuncturist. This distinction is important because seeing the word acupuncture on a provider's website does not necessarily mean that provider completed a professional degree program centered around acupuncture and Chinese medicine.

Acupuncture may be the practitioner's primary profession, or it may be an additional technique incorporated into another healthcare profession. Patients deserve to understand the difference.

Is a Chiropractor Who Performs Acupuncture the Same as a Licensed Acupuncturist?

No. A chiropractor who has completed the requirements to perform acupuncture remains a chiropractor practicing acupuncture within the chiropractic profession. A Texas Licensed Acupuncturist has completed an educational pathway specifically centered around acupuncture and Chinese medicine. Texas requires graduates of approved acupuncture programs seeking licensure to complete at least 1,800 instructional hours of acupuncture education, including at least 450 hours of herbal studies and training.

But there is another important difference that cannot be explained by comparing 100 hours with 1,800 hours. It is about what we are studying during those hours.

Does It Matter Who Performs Your Acupuncture?

It can, especially if you are looking for acupuncture practiced as part of Chinese medicine rather than acupuncture used as an additional technique. Here is something most patients do not know to ask. How did your practitioner learn to decide which acupuncture points you need?

Chinese medicine practitioners do not spend their education simply memorizing which acupuncture point corresponds to which symptom.

Chinese medicine principles are woven throughout our education.

We study how symptoms relate to one another. We learn diagnostic principles, channel theory, acupuncture point functions, treatment strategies, Chinese herbal medicine, biomedical sciences, and clinical applications. Most importantly, we learn how to put that information together to understand the individual patient sitting in front of us.

This way of thinking is developed throughout our education, not learned as one isolated acupuncture technique.

Why Would Two People With the Same Problem Receive Different Acupuncture Treatments?

Imagine three people come into my office because they cannot sleep.

The first person falls asleep easily but wakes repeatedly throughout the night feeling hot and restless.

The second person is exhausted but cannot fall asleep because their mind will not settle.

The third person sleeps eight hours but wakes up exhausted and also struggles with digestive issues.

All three might tell their doctor, I have insomnia. But from a Chinese medicine perspective, those three people may not be presenting the same pattern. Their acupuncture treatments may therefore be completely different.

This process of looking at the entire presentation and identifying the underlying pattern is called pattern differentiation.

Patients generally do not walk into my office asking for pattern differentiation.

They do not need to know the terminology. But they should know that this type of clinical reasoning is a fundamental part of Chinese medicine education.

Chinese Medicine Is More Than Learning Acupuncture Points

This is probably one of the biggest misconceptions about acupuncture.

Learning acupuncture is not simply learning that one point is used for headaches, another is used for back pain, and another is used for sleep. Throughout our education, we study Chinese medicine as a system. Depending on the program and course, that education can include concepts involving Qi, Blood, Yin and Yang, organ system patterns, channel theory, the Eight Principles, pathogenic factors, acupuncture point combinations, herbal medicine, and treatment strategies. We then learn how to apply those principles clinically.

When I evaluate a patient, I may ask questions that initially seem unrelated to the reason they made the appointment.

How are you sleeping?

How is your digestion?

Do you tend to feel hot or cold?

What is your energy like?

Do you feel thirsty often?

Do you sweat abnormally, day sweat or night sweat (yes that tells us 2 different patterns)

For women, what happens throughout your menstrual cycle?

Lastly a Chinese Medicine Practitioner may look at your tongue and feel your pulse.

These details can change the Chinese medicine pattern I identify and therefore change the acupuncture points I select. The needles are only one part of acupuncture.

The education behind deciding why those particular needles are being used for that particular person is equally important.

How Much Training Does a Licensed Acupuncturist Have in Texas?

Texas requires graduates of approved acupuncture programs seeking licensure to complete at least 1,800 instructional hours of acupuncture training. At least 450 of those hours must involve herbal studies and training. Licensed Acupuncturists also have requirements involving prior college education, national examinations, Clean Needle Technique, and Texas licensure. Chinese medicine is the framework we are studying throughout our professional education. We learn Chinese medicine theory, diagnosis, acupuncture points, channels, treatment principles, herbal medicine, clinical reasoning, safety, biomedical sciences, and supervised clinical care. As our education progresses, we repeatedly apply those principles to increasingly complex patient presentations. That is fundamentally different from learning acupuncture as an additional technique within another healthcare profession.

What Is the Difference Between 100 Hours of Acupuncture Training and Acupuncture School?

The difference is not simply the number of hours. It is the depth and purpose of the education. Texas chiropractic rules require at least 100 hours of acupuncture training for a chiropractor seeking an acupuncture permit. The professional education required for Texas acupuncture licensure includes at least 1,800 instructional hours, including at least 450 hours devoted to herbal studies and training. Texas chiropractic regulations themselves recognize a distinction between chiropractic acupuncture education and a full Traditional Chinese Medicine curriculum. A chiropractor may have additional education beyond the minimum requirements, and individual practitioners can pursue extensive additional study.

But the minimum chiropractic acupuncture pathway should not be confused with completing a professional acupuncture program in which Chinese medicine principles are studied throughout the education.

Dry Needling vs Acupuncture for Back Pain, Which Is Better?

It depends on what you are looking for. If you are receiving physical therapy for an injury and your physical therapist recommends dry needling as part of your rehabilitation, dry needling may fit naturally into that treatment plan. The same with chiropractic care. It is often important to get the body aligned by a chiropractor before or after acupuncture. The 2 can go hand and hand. Physical therapy can in many cases be beneficial as well.

If you are looking for a Chinese medicine evaluation, the approach may be broader in terms of acupuncture treatments but lacking a chiropractic or physical therapy component.

For example, when someone comes to me with chronic back pain, I certainly want to know where the pain is located and what movements aggravate it. But I may also ask about other aspects of that person's health. Two patients with chronic back pain do not necessarily receive identical acupuncture treatments because their overall presentations may be different. That individualized approach is one of the reasons understanding your practitioner's training matters.

How Do I Know if Someone Is Actually a Licensed Acupuncturist?

Ask. One of the simplest questions you can ask is: Are you a Texas Licensed Acupuncturist, LAc? You can also ask where the practitioner received their acupuncture education and whether acupuncture and Chinese medicine were their professional degree program or whether acupuncture was additional training added to another healthcare license.

Texas Licensed Acupuncturists can also be verified through the Texas Medical Board.

A provider performing dry needling or chiropractic acupuncture may be properly trained and licensed within their own profession, but that does not make the provider a Texas Licensed Acupuncturist. The distinction is about understanding the education and professional license behind the treatment.

What Does DACM Mean?

I am a Texas Licensed Acupuncturist and hold a Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, DACM. My education in Chinese medicine goes beyond learning where to place acupuncture needles. Chinese medicine provides the framework I use to understand the relationships between symptoms, identify patterns, develop treatment strategies, and individualize acupuncture treatments. This becomes especially important when I work with patients whose concerns involve more than one symptom. A patient may come in for chronic pain but also have difficulty sleeping, digestive symptoms, stress, fatigue, or hormonal changes. A fertility patient may come to me for acupuncture support while trying naturally or going through IVF, but their menstrual cycle, sleep, digestion, stress, temperature patterns, and other individual factors can also be considered when developing their Chinese medicine treatment. I am not simply choosing a point because someone has a particular diagnosis. I am treating the individual sitting in front of me.

Dry Needling vs Chiropractic Acupuncture vs Licensed Acupuncture, What Should You Choose?

There is a place for different healthcare professions and different treatment approaches.

The important thing is understanding what you are choosing.

Dry needling is commonly used within physical therapy as a technique addressing musculoskeletal and movement related concerns.

Chiropractic acupuncture allows appropriately permitted chiropractors to incorporate acupuncture into chiropractic practice. Texas requires at least 100 hours of acupuncture training for the chiropractic acupuncture permit.

A Texas Licensed Acupuncturist completes a professional educational pathway specifically centered around acupuncture and Chinese medicine, with at least 1,800 instructional hours required for qualifying approved programs, including at least 450 hours of herbal studies and training.

The biggest difference is the education, diagnostic framework, and clinical reasoning behind why that needle is being placed there.

Looking for a Licensed Acupuncturist in The Woodlands?

At Vibe Acupuncture & Holistic Healing in The Woodlands, Texas, acupuncture treatments are individualized according to the person, their symptoms, their health history, and their Chinese medicine presentation.

Whether you are seeking support for pain, fertility and IVF, stress, sleep, women's health, or overall wellness, the goal is not simply to treat the name of a condition.

The goal is to understand the individual sitting in front of us.

Dr. Tiffany Kristensen, DACM

Vibe Acupuncture & Holistic Healing

The Woodlands, Texas