Dry Needling (DN) and manipulation are the two most powerful tools we have at our disposal to positively affect the musculoskeletal and nervous systems. From NHL players to your average patient, these two treatments, especially when used together, are the quickest and most effective methods to resolve the vast majority of impairments.

If used mindfully, focusing on both the musculoskeletal and the nervous systems, especially the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS), DN and manipulation lead to wonderful and lasting results.

We offer the following certifications:

• Intricate Art Dry Needling Certification (IADN Cert.)
• Intricate Art Dry Needling Certified Specialist (IADN Cert. Specialist)
• Intricate Art Manual Therapy Certification (IAMTC)
• Intricate Art Nutrition Certification (IANC)

Our courses may be taken in any order (prior needling experience required for DN 3 & Advanced Clinical Dry Needling).. Click here for our full course list + upcoming dates. We have specifically created them this way to allow easier access for our students. Scroll down for more detailed information on each certification or click the certificate name above.

Get a feel for our teaching style with these instructional videos

Dry Needling Certification: How long does it take to earn + what is covered?

Our IADN certification is for PTs, OTs, ATs, DCs, and any other profession that includes DN in the scope of practice.

What courses are included in the Dry Needling Certification?
Our dry needling curriculum is split into 2 seminars:

• Dry Needling 1
• Dry Needling 2

DN 1 and 2 aboth 3-day courses that focus on learning how to needle every accessible structure in the body, aside from the true pelvic floor. Both courses cover the full body; however, there is less focus on the hands, face, and feet in DN 1. You may begin with DN 2 if you have not needled before, no worries.

Dry Needling Certified Specialist: How long does it take to earn + what is covered?

Our IADN Cert. Specialist is for PTs, Ots, ATs, DCs, and any professions that include DN within their scope of practice.

Related: Click here for more details on who can earn a certification and why it might benefit your practice.

Our IADN Certified Specialist can be achieved by 2 different pathways.

• Option 1 (86-hour certification)
  • Dry Needling 1, Dry Needling 2, Dry Needling 3, Lumbopelvic Dry Needling
• Option 2 (81-hour certification)
  • Dry Needling 1, Dry Needling 2, Advanced Clinical Dry Needling

Our dry needling curriculum is split into 5 seminars:

• Dry Needling 1
• Dry Needling 2
• Dry Needling 3
• Lumbopelvic Dry Needling
• Advanced Clinical Dry Needling

Information about DN 1 + 2 are listed above.

DN 3 is a 2-day course that focuses on treating impairments rather than specific muscles, although that is covered as well. We cover different methods and methodologies to treat a variety of conditions, including post-TKA/THA, post-RC surgery, whiplash, and fibromyalgia, to name a few. Advanced physiology and how to specifically target the nervous systems is covered in-depth. This is a course for people who feel comfortable needling but who may not be super confident in how to turn all of the information in their brain into applicable clinical knowledge and treatment.

Lumbopelvic DN is a 2-day course which covers all structures in and surrounding the pelvis, including the pelvic floor. Needling in this area is incredibly comfortable. I know, it sounds totally nuts, but I promise you, it is basically painless. Competency treating the pelvic floor is one of the most overlooked and poorly performed skills across all professions. This is the center of your body, and aside from the obvious incontinence issues, if you have a dysfunctional pelvic floor, not one other part of your body will function properly. Most cases of LBP, hip pain, abdominal pain, and a lot of other stuff cannot be completely and properly treated without addressing the pelvic floor.

Advanced Clinical Dry Needling is a 3-day course that combines our Lumbopelvic Dry Needling & Dry Needling 3 courses. This course covers advanced application of dry needling in clinical practice for numerous impairments. In addition to focusing on how to needle certain structures, like the true pelvic floor muscles, which we cover in depth, we explore our unique needling methodology to treat various conditions, such as total knee replacements, rotator cuff repairs, concussions, palsies, incontinence, headaches, accessory breathing muscle impairment, autoimmunity, idiopathic disease, and more.

Our Manual Therapy (IAMTC) certification can be achieved by 2 different pathways

Our IAMTC is not applicable for DC’s.

Each of our courses includes instruction regarding how to incorporate DN and manipulation into your daily practice. Students may complete the testing weekend any time we are free. We work with you to make it easy.

What courses are included in the Intricate Art Manual Therapy Certification (IAMTC)?

• Option 1 (134-hour certification)
  • Dry Needling 1, Dry Needling 2, Dry Needling 3, Lumbopelvic DN
  • Cervicothoracic Manipulation, Lumbopelvic Manipulation, Extremity Manipulation
  • Testing Weekend
• Option 2 (129-hour certification)
  • Dry Needling 1, Dry Needling 2, Advanced Clinical Dry Needling
  • Cervicothoracic Manipulation, Lumbopelvic Manipulation, Extremity Manipulation
  • Testing Weekend

I went through the long and expensive (and also awesome) process of obtaining my Manual Therapy Certification (MTC) through the University of Saint Augustine. I believe it was 9 courses with roughly 32 oral, written, and practical exams. This is an excellent certification, and it prepared me for what I am doing today; however, it is a long and expensive process that includes a full week of testing that is only available a few times a year. It also does not include DN. I wanted to make a less expensive option for practitioners to master the Intricate Art of conjoining needling with manipulation.

Why Choose Intricate Art?

We try to make our courses as accessible to everyone as possible, and in doing so, we try to keep our prices reasonable (click here for more information on course schedules + prices). You will not find a better deal out there. We are have a laid-back, relaxing, and fun class environment. You will also learn more with us than with any other company. And if you like fishing, camping, traveling, fantasy books, or anything like that, we can totally talk about that too!

Check out our reviews page to see what people think about us.

DN and manipulation are synergistic treatments, and in competent hands, they can be used to achieve amazing patient outcomes. Both treatments, if performed properly, have an overall dampening effect on the sympathetic portion of the ANS (SANS) and an elevating effect on the parasympathetic portion of the ANS (PANS). This works out well for us, as the majority of patients we see have impairments that have either caused, or stemmed from, sympathetic hyperactivity. There are many conditions that involve parasympathetic hyperactivity; however, most of these conditions are typically outside a PTs scope of practice. Some of them include things like ADHD, depression, seizures, organ dysfunction, and nocturnal enuresis, to name a few.

Many practitioners forget how amazingly powerful needling is on the nervous system, including the brain. If you incorporate needles specifically targeting the PANS with your treatments, along with your typical needles (assuming your patient has sympathetic hyperactivity, which is highly probable), you will see significantly improved efficacy and duration of your treatments. Using manipulation in conjunction with this methodology further increases efficacy on mechanical and neurophysiologic levels.

If this type of thinking is new to you and sounds interesting, or if you already think along these lines but would like to advance your knowledge, you will enjoy any and all of our courses and certifications.

One of the most frequent compliments we get in class is that we do not make DN or manipulation seem scary, which it should not be. There is no specific right way to do any of this stuff. As long as you follow some basic safety guidelines, there are many ways to accomplish the same goal—helping your patients. We go over numerous ways to perform DN and manipulative techniques for each area of the body. Everyone prefers to do things slightly different and each patient demands individual treatment. For this reason, a practitioner needs to have an expansive knowledge base that allows for proper adjustment and implementation of certain appropriate techniques. You will gain this knowledge with us.

During our courses, we touch upon many differing aspects of DN and manipulation, including concepts and theories from numerous professions. How to incorporate these techniques with a wide variety of patients for a wide variety of impairments is covered at length.

If you have any questions about anything at all, click here for our contact page to give us a call, text, or email, and I will get right back to you. We look forward to seeing you at one of our future courses.