Level 1 Introductory Dry Needling Course

Want to add Dry Needling to your Clinical Kit? Have you noticed your hands ache after a day of soft tissue work? Hypermobile thumbs perhaps? Or do you want to better understand how dry needling & acupuncture interact with manual therapy?

All great questions. All have been asked by the 1000s of manual therapists that have previously attended our Level 1 - Dry Needling Course, the first part of our Clinical Dry Needling Program. 

This dry needling course is designed to provide you with a comprehensive introduction to the necessary theory and clinical practice. It is suited to clinicians with limited or no experience and covers minimum requirements for professional indemnity insurance. Practitioners must stay within their scope of practice after completion of their training.

The Complete Dry Needling Package

Past participants recommend completing Levels 1, 2, and 3 in a 12-month period to firmly cement their dry needling knowledge. For this reason, we offer an additional bonus for those ready to commit.

2025 Normal Investment: Level 1 + Level 2 + Level 3 = $1650

2025 Complete Package: Level 1 + Level 2 +  Level 3 = $1320

SAVING YOU $330

To access your 2025 Complete Dry Needling Package, you enrol in each of the three courses in the same year (as a full-paying participant) and pay the total amount. Email us with your nominated bank details, and you receive a 20% refund ($330) within 2 business days.

Level 1 Introductory/Refresher Dry Needling Course includes;

• Online Theory (work at your own pace, time & location) via AAP Education Academy
• FREE Wet Lab Anatomy Workshop (2-hour exclusive - Value = $160) @ UWA 6 - 8.00pm
• 1.5 days practical workshop (Fri 5.00 - 8.00pm and Saturday 8.00 - 5.00pm)
• 6 months of free access to the online dry needling video library

Course Participation Compulsory Requirements

• Due to the presumed anatomy knowledge, advanced palpation skills and structure of these courses, our minimal education standard is a degree course or higher in an area of the medical health sciences; physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic, myotherapy, medicine, podiatry or occupational therapy
• You are required to have current registration with your national professional body (e.g. AHPRA, MAA)
• You are required to have public indemnity insurance as per your professional body's minimum standard
• For these reasons, graduates of human movements, exercise physiology, nursing, remedial & therapeutic massage are ineligible to apply, and AAP Education recommends you seek a course focused on simple dry-needling techniques

Participant Feedback

"I really appreciate; 

1. Surface anatomy review
2. Doug - very approachable + non-threatening
3. eManual - very detailed + easy to read
4. Regular breaks - great for someone that is 20 weeks pregnant" 

Beth Vellios  - Physiotherapist

 

"Doug I found the; 

• case study presentations
• demos and the low ratio of students to the presenter 
• plantar fascia discussion
• wet lab anatomy workshop
• course manual and online video technique library were all very helpful.

This dry needling course goes beyond just needling skills and pushes your ability to reason clinically. It encourages thinking outside the box and questioning what is already 'given knowledge'. Being in your course the past 4 days has been a pleasure."

Tisha Bohne - Physiotherapist

Text Recommendations

Click here for our book recommendations to assist your study.

Continuing Professional Development

An AAP Accredited course: 24 hours National AHPRA Registration CPD requirements (Includes F2F practical, Living Anatomy Wet Lab, pre-reading and online study modules)

What Sets AAP Education Apart from the Crowd?

YOU RECEIVE A FREE (VALUE = $160) 2-HOUR ANATOMY WET LAB WORKSHOP. Unique amongst all dry needling courses in Australia is the opportunity to enjoy a guided tour of the upper limb, lower limb, and spinal structures in relation to dry needling with clinical director Dr Doug Cary PhD.

Revisit the core skill of anatomical tissue identification but from a clinical perspective. This 2-hour clinically focused session at the UWA's premiere anatomy lab has practitioners repeatably returning to hone their anatomy skills. All dry needling supplies are provided on the course + you receive a discount voucher for your first purchase of premium quality Seirin needles as used on the course. 

YOU RISK NOTHING! Attend an AAP Education course, and if you are not convinced that it will improve how you treat your clients, we will provide you with a complete refund. We were the first to offer a 30-day, 100% No-Risk Satisfaction Guarantee. Why? We are sure the course content quality and clinical insights you receive will guarantee you exceptional value for your money. P.S. No one since 1995 has ever asked for a refund from us. Ever!

LIFETIME SUPPORT. Why go through the same pitfalls? Why reinvent the wheel? Your dry needling skills will develop through progressively challenging courses, from Level 1 Introductory to Level 4 Master Needling. You learn in a supportive environment, combining theory and practicals, case studies, and clinical reasoning. Even when not at a course, you have access to the course director, receive regular emails with clinical information, and access to a large online Resources Library with webinars, documents, and research papers. Why? Learning shouldn’t be threatening! We want your learning to be clinically relevant and fun. We offer the only progressive, COMPLETE dry needling program with LIFETIME support.

EXPERTISE. You will benefit from a presenter who has achieved specialisation in musculoskeletal physiotherapy, with 30+ years of full-time clinical experience, teaching dry needling since 1995 and a research doctorate at Curtin University. He also provides forensic consultation in dry needling and physiotherapy for AHPRA and other legal authorities.

BONUS LEARNING TOOLS. Most people don’t recall everything. For this reason, you can access the online technique video library (Value $100) of all the techniques demonstrated during your course.

COMPLETE LEARNING MATERIALS. From the moment you enrol, you are learning. You will receive access to online theory modules, anatomy quizzes, and articles. All to maximise your on-the-day learning. A Living Anatomy Wet Laboratory workshop is included to enable an important review of anatomy ‘in the flesh’. No other dry needling course presenter provides access to anatomy workshops with a dry needling emphasis. Before the course, you will receive an eManual, full text (no PowerPoint handouts) (Value $85). You can sit back, take notes, absorb information and review references later. It all makes your learning easy. For your PD portfolio, we provide individualised Course Competency & Completion Certificates (Value $35). No extra charge.

TIME CREATION. If I am treating pain, trigger points, or muscle spasms, dry needling creates 3-4 extra minutes for every client. Over a day of 15-20 clients, this is an extra hour that I choose to spend providing more comprehensive client education and home exercise development. In this way, dry needling improves client outcomes through short-term pain relief and long-term functional improvements.

"The level of specificity and detail in the course was outstanding. The online theory and manual were very easy to navigate and a great resource to refer back to during the practical component of the course. Doug is extremely approachable and knowledgeable and encourages you to think about pathology and three-dimensional anatomy and use your clinical reasoning when using dry needling. Overall, I would highly recommend a fantastic course to other clinicians." 

Jas Angelev - Physiotherapist

AAP Education Rural & Remote Scholarship

If you work in a designated rural and remote region, 4 - 7 using the Modified Monash model you may select an AAP Education rural and remote position for this course. Places are provided on a first-come basis.

Rural & Remote Professional Development Support

See Rural Workforce Support Agencies for details in your state or territory.

Other Dry Needling Courses

Level 2 Advanced Spine and Lower Quadrant Course

Level 3 Advanced Spine and Upper Quadrant Course

Level 4 Master Needler Course

Associated course Living Anatomy - Wet Lab Learning

Level 2 - Dry Needling Spine & Lower Quadrant

Getting great dry needling results and aspiring to extend your skills to a greater range of clients?

but.....

Aware of your technical limitations and professional responsibility to stay within your scope of practice?

This dry needing course is designed for those who have attended a Level 1 - Dry Needling Introductory Course and are enthusiastic clinicians, want to utilise dry needling for conditions involving the spine & lower quadrant. Electro-acupuncture and gua sha fascial massage are also covered. With many clients presenting with acute lumbar pain and viscerosomatic pain, having dry needling skills to treat these areas alone, saves time and improves client education, rapport and outcomes. 

Dry Needling Course Participation Requirements

• Due to the presumed anatomy knowledge, advanced palpation skills and structure of these courses, our minimal education standard is a degree course or equivalent in an area of the medical sciences (e.g. physiotherapy, osteopathy, myotherapy, chiropractic, medicine, podiatry)
• You are required to provide current registration with your national professional body
• You are required to have public indemnity insurance as per your professional bodies minimum standard
• For these reasons, graduates of human movements, exercise physiology, nursing, remedial & therapeutic massage are ineligible to apply and AAP Education recommends you seek a course focused on simple dry needling techniques

"Great theory and practical. Great tips on how to manage clinical presentations. I found all of the course really helpful"

Dr Sarahjane O'Leary - Osteopath

 

"Dear Doug,
I have meant to write to you for a long time now regarding the courses I completed with you in July. I wanted to write and say thank you so much for everything over those 6 days. I found the courses ABSOLUTELY fantastic and they provided me with a much more holistic and open-minded view while starting in on my physiotherapy career.

During uni, there was so much focus on joints, joints, joints and Maitland techniques as the 'be all and end all' of treatment. Adding acupuncture to my clinical set of skills and the knowledge of how it can be utilised to impact patients' conditions and their symptoms has been vital in developing myself as a more broad-minded physiotherapist. Thank you again." 

Annie Dummett - Physiotherapist

After completing this dry needing course you will;

• Increase client base by treating viscerosomatic pain problems
• Experience in using electro-acupuncture
• Experience in using Gua Sha massage
• Understand management strategies for difficult conditions like plantar fasciitis
• Integrate lumbar trigger points using a facilitated 'layering' segment paradigm
• Learn referral patterns, clinical tests, and home programs for over 20 common clinically presenting muscles

Restricted to only 14 participants, this dry needling course is designed to be intense & maximise your formal learning but allow plenty of time for off-tangent clinical discussions. Post-course comments like “it was so good to see how to integrate dry needling with all the other client management skills" and " anatomy, anatomy, anatomy - what a great way to learn it again" are common.

This dry needling course is not a ‘technique’ course. You will learn and apply your skills of observation, palpation, surface and 3D depth anatomy, clinical reasoning and exercise progression to appropriately manage clients successfully. Doug brings together all these skills as a specialist musculoskeletal physiotherapist with over 30 years as a full-time practising clinician and researcher.

Additional Bonus – Living Anatomy Wet Lab Workshop

This is truly a unique opportunity to put together surface anatomy with 3D depth anatomy. Bringing together a dry-needling clinician and cadavers in the same room provides you with the opportunity like never before to put theory and clinical practice together.

Level 2 & 3 dry needling course participants can attend an exclusive 2-hour Anatomy Workshop with Course Director Dr Doug Cary for a 50% reduction to the normal investment.

Full benefits include;

• Opportunity to examine in detail specimens selected in world-class facilities
• Opportunity to revise and enhance your visualisation and understanding of applied neuromusculoskeletal and regional anatomy
• Anatomy of the specimens explained in detail by Dr Doug Cary - Course Director
• Opportunity to discuss and share your knowledge with colleagues and experienced dry-needling practitioners
• Lab coats and surgical gloves provided, closed shoes required

At the end of the day, we treat human 3D bodies and you can only get so much information from 2D books. One of the most common comments from past participants was "wouldn’t it be great to have wet lab anatomy sessions to coincide with advanced courses in dry needling," and now you have it! This is the first and only program in Australia offering this important course inclusion. 

"I have been using the dry needling techniques recently learnt on the Level 2 Spine and Advanced Lower Quadrant, especially the lumbar spine, and the results have been amazing! A new client came with a 4-year history of pain and seeing a variety of health care practitioners. After needling her EO & ES & QL, her pain is now minimal and she became teary after being able to breathe without pain for the first time in 4 years.  So thanks for sharing your expertise, the results I'm getting are really exciting. Thanks Doug."

Bernie Camarri - Physiotherapist

Text Recommendations

Click here for our recommendations of books to assist your study.

Continuing Professional Development

AAP Accredited course: 12 hours National Registration CPD requirements

Rural & Remote Professional Development Support

See Rural Workforce Support Agencies for details in your state or territory.

Other Dry Needling Courses

Level 1 Introductory Dry Needling Course

Level 3 Advanced Spine and Upper Quadrant Course

Level 4 Master Needler Course

Associated course Living Anatomy - Wet Lab Learning

Level 3 - Dry Needling Spine & Upper Quadrant

Are you getting great dry needling results and aspire to extend your skills to a greater range of clients?

but...

Aware of your technical limitations and professional responsibility to stay within your scope of practice?

This course is designed for those who have attended a Level 1 Introductory Course and a Level 2 - Advanced Spine & Lower Quadrant Course, and are wanting to treat a greater variety of conditions involving the upper quadrant. With up to 80% of presentations having a musculoskeletal involvement; be they Mums & Dads, weekend warriors, committed athletes or vocational injuries, dry needling is a ‘must have’ skill to assist them to recover.

Course Participation Requirements

• Due to the presumed anatomy knowledge, advanced palpation skills and structure of these courses, our minimal education standard is a degree course or equivalent in an area of the medical sciences (e.g. physiotherapy, osteopathy, myotherapy, chiropractic, medicine, podiatry)
• You are required to provide current registration with your national professional body (not an industry body)
• You are required to have public indemnity insurance as per your professional body's minimum standard
• For these reasons, graduates of human movements, exercise physiology, nursing, remedial & therapeutic massage are ineligible to apply and AAP Education recommends you seek a course focused on simple dry needling techniques 

  

After completing this course you will; 

• Understand why the latest Cochrane reviews emphasise the involvement of dry needling in the treatment of headaches, and how to apply this information
• Confidently be able to differentiate through palpation, the anterior and posterior cervical tubercles and needle the scalenes
• Learn techniques to enable the safe needling of muscles that arise from the rib cage
• Complete your understanding of shoulder girdle muscle pain pattern referrals
• Integrate cervical trigger points using a facilitated segment paradigm
• Learn referral patterns, clinical tests, and home programs for over 30 common clinically presenting muscles

This course is not a ‘technique’ course. You will learn and apply your skills of observation, palpation, surface and 3D depth anatomy, clinical reasoning and exercise progression to appropriately manage clients successfully. Doug brings together all these skills as a specialist musculoskeletal physiotherapist with over 30 years as a practising clinician and researcher.

 

"I really enjoyed the palpation and body drawing, emphasising anatomy, palpation and tissue depth. Clinical pearls were great. Doug shared his excellent level of knowledge and anatomy as well as clinical reasoning. Great jokes also!!

Bodine Ledden, Myotherapist, Course co-ordinator Australasian College of Massage & Myotherapy

Additional Bonus – Living Anatomy Wet Lab Workshop

This is truly a unique opportunity to put together surface anatomy with 3D depth anatomy. Bringing together a dry-needling clinician and cadavers in the same room provides you with the opportunity like never before to put theory and clinical practice together.

Level 2 & 3 course participants can attend an exclusive 2-hour Anatomy Workshop with Course Director Dr Doug Cary for a 50% reduction to the normal investment.

Full benefits include;

• Opportunity to examine in detail specimens selected in world-class facilities
• Opportunity to revise and enhance your visualisation and understanding of applied neuromusculoskeletal and regional anatomy
• Anatomy of the specimens explained in detail by Dr Doug Cary - Course Director
• Opportunity to discuss and share your knowledge with colleagues and experienced dry-needling practitioners
• Lab coats and surgical gloves provided, closed shoes required

At the end of the day, we treat human 3D bodies and you can only get so much information from 2D books. One of the most common comments from past participants was "Wouldn’t it be great to have wet lab anatomy sessions to coincide with advanced courses in dry needling," and now you have it! This is the first and only program in Australia offering this important course inclusion.

"Within my first 12 months as a new physiotherapy graduate, I completed the Level 1 Introductory, Level 2 Spine and Advanced Lower Quadrant and Level 3 Spine and Advanced Upper Quadrant needling courses with Doug. For me, the most valuable part of each course was the revision of in-depth anatomy. This included detailed body drawings, revising cross sections, and attending a wet lab at UWA. Particularly being a new graduate, it was so beneficial to cement and apply what I had learnt at Uni.

I must admit – like many others, I had always had a fear of needles. However, focusing on the theory behind needling, practising the technique and experiencing the benefits, has made me more comfortable with needles. This has allowed me to confidently recommend needling as an option to people who are scared and/or sceptical. Doug also provided a take-home DVD (now available as online videos) which is useful to refer to.

My advanced spinal needling courses consisted of a small group which was fantastic. It allowed us to assess and practice on different body types under the guidance of Doug; who is so knowledgeable and approachable. Being a small group made him easily accessible within such a relaxed environment. We casually talked over case studies, some of which were relevant to needling and other more complex cases. We bounced around ideas and were guided by Doug as to the current best practice and clinical reasoning.

The Advanced courses were held at the Bendat Community Centre in Osborne Park. The venue was easy to find with multiple FREE parking just outside the front door. How good!

I would highly recommend Doug’s needling courses. Even if you aren’t the biggest fan of needles, do it for the anatomy. It’s easy to forget how complex the body can be. And also... because Doug is ledge - thanks, Doug!"

Britt Pethick - Physiotherapist

Text Recommendations

Click here for our recommendations of books to assist your study.

Continuing Professional Development

AAP Accredited course: 12 hours National Registration CPD requirements.

Rural & Remote Professional Development Support

See Rural Workforce Support Agencies for details in your state or territory.

Other Dry Needling Courses

Level 1 Introductory Dry Needling Course

Level 2 Advanced Spine and Lower Quadrant Course

Level 4 Master Needler Course

Associated course Living Anatomy - Wet Lab Learning