Boise Pain and Sports Acupuncture: Why Advanced Acupuncture Training Matters for Your Safety in Dry Needling

By Dr. Kristen Burris, DAcCHM

Boise, Idaho

If you are searching for Boise acupuncture for pain relief, sports acupuncture, or dry needling, one of the most important questions you should ask the provider is not just what technique is being used—but who is implementing the technique and how extensively they were trained. Ask how many clinical hours they were trained in needling alone. Not just their entire education as a whole. 

Not all needling is the same and when it comes to your safety, experience, education, licensure and continuing education matters more than most people realize.

Over 5,000 Hours of Advanced Acupuncture & Orthopedic Training

Mr. Tony Burris, LAc, MSTOM and Dr. Kristen Burris, DAcCHM are board-certified licensed acupuncturists with over 5,000 hours of formal medical training, far exceeding the minimum standards for safe and effective needling.

Their training includes:

  •  Master’s & Doctoral-level education in Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine

  •  Board certification through national acupuncture boards, California acupuncture and herbal medicine boards and licensed in Idaho

  •  Extensive Clean Needle Technique (CNT) training

  •  Advanced sports acupuncture & orthopedic acupuncture

  •  Dry needling techniques grounded in Western anatomy

  • Cadaver lab training, providing direct, real-world understanding of:

    • Muscle thickness and depth to Lungs, Heart, Spleen, Liver and Kidneys

    • Nerve pathways

    • Blood vessels

    • Organ proximity

    • Musculoskeletal layering

Cadaver lab training is considered the gold standard for anatomical safety—yet it is not required nor included for the majority of  practitioners offering dry needling today. Most dry needlers are trained by other dry needlers in one weekend. They often do not have clinical rotations. Whereas acupuncturists, like the Burrises, have 3 years of clinical rotations learning about proper needle techniques, depths of insertion and safety precautions.

Clean Needle Technique: A Non-Negotiable Standard of Care

Licensed acupuncturists are trained extensively in Clean Needle Technique, a nationally regulated safety standard designed to prevent:

  • Infection

  • Nerve injury

  • Vascular damage

  • Organ puncture

  • Pneumothorax (collapsed lung)

CNT is not just a single class—it is embedded and the principles that are repeated throughout years of formal education, clinical observations and training, national board testing, and ongoing licensure requirements.

The Hidden Risk: Minimal Dry Needling Training in Other Professions

Many patients are unaware that dry needling can legally be performed by non-acupuncturists, including some physical therapists and chiropractors, after extremely limited post-graduate training.

Sadly, this results in painful needling and high incidents of tragic accidents. Most recently, T.J. Watts from the Pittsburgh Steelers had a painful collapsed lung from a dry needling injury. He needed emergency surgery to repair the devastating damage. Steelers inside linebacker says he prefers to utilize acupuncture. "...kind of two different things," Queen said of the practices. "One (acupuncture), you got to go to school for a longer period of time" (Yes! Acupuncture training with Dr. Burris was 6 1/2 years long;  dry needling training is three days or 27 hours). "There's a whole much more scientific thing that goes into it. I don't do the whole dry needle thing. I'm actually scared of dry needling, so I kind of stay away from that stuff". Queen said the extra education required to administer acupuncture is why he uses it. "I just feel, me personally, more comfortable with somebody who has a little bit more experience". A little bit more experience is an understatement when you compare 6 1/2 years of training, education, observing, and learning how to properly needle, while under the direct supervision of another acupuncturist, including clinical board exams and a license.  https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47289609/tj-watt-pittsburgh-steelers-collapsed-lung-injury-recovery-line-dry-needling-treatment-explained-questions

There really is no comparison. But the public is grossly unaware.  Dr. Kristen Burris, DAcCHM, L.Ac. and Mr. Tony Burris, L.Ac., M.S.T.O.M. have over 5,000 hours of training, 1,800 hours of clinical needling supervision and practice, 3 board exams and 2 different licenses in two states. For contrast,  the vast difference of safety and education, dry needling education for P.T.'s and Chiropractors is completed in one weekend. Acupuncturists 6 1/2 years, Dry Needling performed by other types of providers 3 days.

This is where mistakes have been made. Both acupuncture and dry needling use the same acupuncture needles now being referred to as filiform needles. Both Dr. Burris and Mr. Burris are the most highly trained acupuncturists who also have sports injury training, musculoskeletal training with motor points used in dry needling. Ironically, dry needling is far more invasive, with a deep penetration style of needling. It is one reason it hurts a lot more than acupuncture; lack of sufficient training in proper technique is another. 

In many states, like Idaho, the state only requires 27 hours of training for dry needling certification and that is not a type-o. The minimal training lacks time and experience:

  • As little as a short weekend course

  • No cadaver lab requirement

  • No national board examination in needling

  • No standardized clean needle curriculum equivalent to acupuncture training

  • No clinical rotations, education nor training

This training gap matters.

There have been well-publicized cases nationwide of patients suffering serious complications, including collapsed lungs, after improperly performed dry needling. The NFL star, T.J. Watts only being one of many victims.  These incidents highlight why anatomical mastery—not just technique—is critical when inserting needles into the body. The irony of this lack of training and education is that dry needling is far more invasive than acupuncture. Dry needling goes deep into the muscles, if they don't then that is acupuncture and it is illegal to perform acupuncture without a license. But as you can imagine, this has become a very dangerous and slippery slope. 

Sports Acupuncture & Orthopedic Dry Needling Done Safely

At our Boise clinic, sports acupuncture and orthopedic dry needling are performed with:

  • A deep understanding of anatomy

  • Respect and years of training in safe needling depth and angles

  • Integration of functional movement and biomechanics

  • Precision treatment for:

    • Shoulder injuries

    • Rib injuries

    • Musculoskeletal injuries

    • Soft Tissue injuries

    • Any injury

    • Hip pain

    • Knee pain

    • Low back pain

    • Neck pain

    • Sports injuries

    • Chronic orthopedic conditions

We don’t just treat pain—we treat the root cause, while protecting the structures beneath the needle.

Why Boise Athletes & Pain Patients Choose Licensed Acupuncturists

Patients seeking Boise sports acupuncture, acupuncture for pain management, and dry needling deserve transparency.

Choosing a licensed acupuncturist at Eagle Acupuncture means choosing:

  • Thousands of hours (6 and a 1/2 years to be precise) of formal medical training

  • Board-regulated safety standards

  • Cadaver-based anatomical education

  • Decades of clinical experience

  • 10,000's of patients and treatments

  • A practitioner whose entire profession is built around safe, effective, needling

  • A provider who has treated NFL legendary football champions

  • Clinical rotation at the renowned RIMAC sports center for orthopedic sports acupuncture for collegiate athletes at UCSD University of California San Diego

  • Team Acupuncturist for NY Marathon winner, NFL football players for 5 different teams, bull rider champions, rodeo winners, collegiate baseball players, tennis pros, ultimate fighter professionals...to name a handful 

Your body isn’t a practice field. It’s not the place for shortcuts.

The Bottom Line: Training Saves Lives

Dry needling is not inherently dangerous—but insufficient training is and the outcome can be costly financially, emotionally and physically. According to the Journal of Pulmonology, once a patient experiences a pneumothorax, the likelihood of recurrence is astronomically high: 50.6%. 

When needles are placed near lungs, nerves, major blood vessels, and organs, who holds the needle, matters.

For safe, effective, Boise pain relief, sports acupuncture, and orthopedic dry needling, trust practitioners whose education is years long, not one or two weekends and was designed for this work from the start.

Schedule with Confidence Call our Office (208) 938-1277

Mr. Tony Burris, LAc, MSTOM

Dr. Kristen Burris, DAcCHM

Boise’s trusted experts in pain, sports acupuncture, and orthopedic dry needling.

Colin Eggleston