Summary
Paul Klorin, dry needling division lead at the Institute of Clinical Excellence and founder of iDryNeedle, shares guidance for physical therapists on choosing their dry needling continuing education. He emphasizes that where you start your dry needling training is typically where you finish, and that first course fundamentally shapes how you use dry needling for the rest of your career. Paul outlines key do's and don'ts: don't choose based solely on price or convenience, do poll trusted colleagues for recommendations, and recognize that different companies teach very different approaches. Some focus on needle placement at researched points, others emphasize aggressive mechanical pistoning, and others integrate e-stim. He encourages established practitioners to eventually take courses from multiple educators to broaden their perspective, but warns against mixing approaches before establishing a solid foundation with one program first.
Key Points
- Where you take your first dry needling continuing education course typically shapes your entire needling career
- Don't choose a dry needling course based solely on the cheapest price or most convenient location
- Do poll trusted colleagues who have taken different courses to get real feedback before choosing
- Not all dry needling approaches are the same: some focus on needle placement, others on aggressive pistoning, others on e-stim integration
- Establish a solid foundation with one program before branching out to other educators
- Taking snapshot courses from three different companies without a foundation creates confused clinicians
- Once you have clinical experience and your own data set, taking courses from different educators can deepen your expertise
- The investment in quality education pays for itself quickly through better patient outcomes and expanded clinical offerings
Key Moments
Where you start your dry needling education shapes your entire career
Paul Klorin emphasizes that your first dry needling course fundamentally shapes how you approach the technique for the rest of your career, because most practitioners continue within the same training program.
"Unfortunately, kind of where you start your dry needling journey, kind of where you take your first Con Ed course, tends to be where you continue to get trained. So whether that's a level one, level two, level three, or upper, lower, advanced, something like that. So where you start is typically where you finish"
Not all dry needling approaches are the same
The spectrum of dry needling education is vast, with some courses focusing on simple needle placement, others on aggressive mechanical pistoning, and others on e-stim integration, all of which produce fundamentally different clinical approaches.
"This one course, this one company, we really just placed these needles in certain spots, researched to support it, but that's kind of all we were doing is placing needles in certain spots. This other one, very anatomically focused, but also very mechanically driven on like, you know, some soreness inducing, some more aggressive needlework, that sort of thing. This company is more e-stim, this company didn't use e-stim."
Don't choose the cheapest dry needling course
Paul warns against choosing dry needling education based solely on price, arguing that the return on investment from better training pays for itself quickly through improved patient outcomes.
"Don't just look for the cheapest option. I guarantee you that you will get a return on any investment if you choose a slightly better course or a course that maybe fits your practice model better."
