Dry needling (also known as Myofascial Dry Needling) is a form of soft tissue therapy using the same filament needles as used by an acupuncturist. Dry needling and acupuncture have a completely different approach in terms of treatment given. 

Dry needling treats soft tissues by targeting its active and latent myofascial trigger points (same approach as trigger point therapy), muscle spasms, dysfunctional tissue, which is based on Western Medicine theory, where as acupunture  treats  liver dysfunction, headache, nausea, joint pain, allergies, high blood pressure which based on Chinese Medicine theory. 

Its effects can include deactivating trigger points, reducing or eliminating pain, increasing blood flow, increasing range of movement and re-education of the correct neuromuscular patterns.