Orthopedic Acupuncture & Dry Needling in Rancho Bernardo, San Diego
Orthopedic acupuncture and dry needling treat musculoskeletal
pain and injury — back, neck, shoulder, and knee pain, sports injuries, and
nerve-related pain — using motor-point and trigger-point needling within a
licensed acupuncturist’s scope of practice. At Makari Wellness’s Rancho
Bernardo office, this is delivered by Michael Woodworth, M.S., L.Ac., who
is ART (Active Release Techniques) full-body certified and trained in
sports medicine acupuncture, combining manual therapy with needling in the
same visit.
What is orthopedic acupuncture?
Orthopedic acupuncture applies acupuncture and motor-point dry needling
to structural and movement problems — the same tissues an orthopedist or
physical therapist would examine — rather than the broader systemic
conditions acupuncture also treats. In California, dry needling is legally
performed as acupuncture; there’s no separate “dry needling certification,”
and only a licensed acupuncturist (or another provider working within
scope) can perform it.
How does dry needling actually work?
Dry needling works by deliberately creating a small, controlled local
tissue response — the same kind of signal a minor injury sends — which
triggers the body’s own repair and pain-modulation systems at three levels:
locally at the needle site, at the spinal cord (pain-gating), and in the
brain (descending pain inhibition). It’s a tool that activates the body’s
own capacity to resolve inflammation and pain, on its own — needling
doesn’t act on the condition directly, and results depend on the condition
and how much capacity the body has left to work with.
What does treatment combine at Makari Wellness?
- ART (Active Release Techniques) — full-body certified manual
therapy for fascia, muscle, and nerve entrapment - Motor-point and trigger-point needling — targets the specific
muscle dysfunction found in the movement assessment - Functional movement screening — identifies the structural or
movement pattern driving the pain, not just the sore spot - Classical acupuncture — channel-based points alongside the
orthopedic work when a pattern calls for it
Conditions treated
- Back pain — lumbar disc issues, sacroiliac dysfunction, chronic low back pain
- Neck and shoulder pain — cervical strain, rotator cuff injury, overuse recovery
- Sciatica and pinched-nerve pain
- Sports injuries — IT band, plantar fasciitis, tennis elbow, runner’s knee
- Post-surgical recovery and general structural imbalance
The Rancho Bernardo office serves inland North County and San Diego’s
northeast communities. Both Makari Wellness locations offer the same full
scope of orthopedic and sports-medicine acupuncture — choose whichever
office is more convenient.
The clinical systems behind this approach
Point selection and manual therapy aren’t improvised. Movement assessment draws on the Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA) and Functional Movement Screen (FMS) frameworks to identify which joint or region is actually restricted, rather than guessing from where the pain is felt. Motor-point selection follows the Sports Medicine Acupuncture (SMAC) motor point index, and the fascial relationships ART addresses are mapped using Thomas Myers’ Anatomy Trains model — the idea that muscle and fascia form continuous lines through the body, so a restriction at one point can show up as pain somewhere else along the same line.
Electro-acupuncture — a mild electrical current run between needle pairs — and guasha or instrument-assisted soft tissue release (scraping the skin and fascia with a smooth-edged tool) are also commonly combined into orthopedic treatment alongside the approaches above, when the case calls for it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you offer dry needling for sports injuries?
Yes. Michael Woodworth performs trigger-point and motor-point needling (dry
needling) as part of his California acupuncture license — in California
this is within a licensed acupuncturist’s scope, with no separate
certification involved.
Is dry needling the same as acupuncture?
In California, yes — legally and in practice. “Dry needling” describes
motor-point and trigger-point technique, performed by the same licensed
acupuncturists using the same needles, within the same scope of practice.
How many sessions does orthopedic acupuncture take?
It depends on how long the pain has been present and what’s driving it. An
initial evaluation — including a movement assessment — sets the plan.
Is the Rancho Bernardo office different from the Oceanside
office?
Both offices are run by Michael Woodworth and offer the same full scope of
services, including orthopedic needling. Rancho Bernardo serves inland
North County and San Diego’s northeast communities; Oceanside serves the
coastal North County communities. Choose whichever is more convenient, or
split between both.
Can orthopedic acupuncture replace physical therapy or surgery?
It’s not positioned as a replacement for conventional orthopedic care —
it’s commonly used alongside it, before it, or during recovery afterward.
Whether it fits your situation is worth discussing directly given your
specific injury and history.
Key takeaways
- Dry needling is performed as acupuncture in California — Rancho
Bernardo combines it with ART manual therapy and movement screening in one
visit. - The Rancho Bernardo office serves inland North County and San Diego’s
northeast communities. - Treatment addresses back, neck, shoulder, and knee pain, sciatica, and
sports injuries — book a consultation to discuss which approach fits your case.