5 Things you didn’t know about Acupuncture and Dry Needling!

1. Acupuncture represents only one part of the ancient healthcare system known as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). TCM also includes herbal medicine, Chinese massage and Chinese exercise (tai chi, qi gong..).
2. Acupuncturists diagnose the state of different organs by palpating of the radial pulse on both wrists. There are about 29 different pulse qualities that can be assigned to a variety of pulse positions which together identify the health of different organs.
3. Because of their location over arteries and nerves acupuncturists can use some powerful acupuncture points to enhance the beneficial effects of their treatments. Some martial arts practitioners make use of these powerful acupuncture points for precisely the opposite purpose – to enhance the effects of their combat. Dim Mak is a martial art that makes extensive use of certain acupuncture points to devastating effect!
4. Osteopaths and physiotherapists often practice dry needling acupuncture, also called medical or western acupuncture. This application of needles is determined by the musculoskeletal system. Although it can affect the nervous system it does not target energy imbalances in the body as TCM does. So dry needling uses similar techniques to TCM but doesn’t share TCM’s  philosophical beliefs.
5. Dry needling can be used to treat conditions such as fertility, by utilising an overlap in the central nervous system between internal organs and musculoskeletal structures that share the same nerve root. This overlap explains why a heart attack might feel like a pain in the arm or jaw. It also explains why applying dry needling to the abdominal wall or feet can affect the nerve supply to the ovaries.

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