PAANZ Courses 2026

Join us for the Physiotherapy Acupuncture Association of New Zealand (PAANZ) Annual General Meeting. While this is not a clinical course, it is a vital event for our community to come together, reflect on the achievements of the past year, and help shape the future of acupuncture and dry needling in New Zealand physiotherapy.

Why Attend?

The AGM is your opportunity to have a direct voice in the direction of our special interest group. Whether you are a longstanding member or new to the community, your insights help us ensure that acupuncture remains a highly utilised, well supported, and protected tool within our profession. Attendance also counts toward CPD.

What We Will Cover:

• Year in Review: A look back at our educational milestones, including the rollout of the new Cert.ADNP accreditation pathway.
• Financial and Governance Updates: Transparent reporting on our budget, operational changes, and planning for the 2027 calendar year.
• Committee Elections: Welcoming new members to the executive and education teams, and discussing opportunities for those looking to step up and give back to the profession.
• Open Floor: A dedicated time to raise questions, share ideas, and discuss how PAANZ can better support your clinical practice.

Please note this event is for PAANZ Members only. 

Fascial Mobilisation Therapy (FMT), originally introduced as the Modern Cupping Method in 2016, is an evidence-informed negative pressure manual therapy developed specifically for physiotherapists. Drawing inspiration from traditional cupping while integrating contemporary musculoskeletal assessment and clinical reasoning, FMT provides clinicians with a practical treatment approach that complements physiotherapy practice, including practitioners with an interest in acupuncture and dry needling.

Workshop Learning Outcomes

By the end of this workshop Module 1 Extremity (upper limbs and lower limbs) workshop, participants will be able to:

• Explain the historical development of cupping and the evolution of Fascial Mobilisation Therapy (FMT) as an evidence-informed negative pressure manual therapy.
• Critically appraise the current evidence, proposed physiological mechanisms, clinical indications, and limitations of negative pressure therapy.
• Describe the interaction between negative pressure therapy, the fascial system, the nervous system, and movement.

Clinical Skills

• Demonstrate safe handling of modern cupping equipment, including appropriate cup selection, treatment force, application direction, and dosage.
• Perform pre- and post-treatment assessment using range of motion, functional movement assessment, manual muscle testing, and symptom modification testing.
• Identify contraindications, precautions, risk management principles, and infection-control procedures relevant to clinical practice.

Clinical Application

• Apply FMT techniques for common upper limb conditions (day 1), including:
  • Adhesive capsulitis
  • Rotator cuff-related shoulder pain
  • Lateral epicondylalgia
  • Carpal tunnel syndrome
  • Thumb and wrist disorders
• Apply FMT techniques for lower limb and pelvic conditions (Day 2), including:
  • Sacroiliac joint dysfunction
  • Hip pain and femoroacetabular impingement
  • Iliotibial band syndrome
  • Patellar tendinopathy
  • Achilles tendinopathy
  • Medial tibial stress syndrome

Rehabilitation Integration

• Integrate FMT into post-operative rehabilitation to facilitate pain management, scar mobility, restoration of movement, and progression towards active rehabilitation.
• Incorporate FMT alongside manual therapy, therapeutic exercise, and physiotherapy acupuncture as part of an evidence-informed management plan.
• Progress treatment using structured clinical reasoning and advanced FMT applications, including patient self-management strategies.

Vignette evenings are an interactive session. You do not have to provide a case study and there will be breakout groups to discuss the cases brought up for discussion.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing the Zoom link.

About the webinar:

Te Tiriti o Waitangi is the foundational document of Aotearoa New Zealand, establishing a critical partnership between Māori and the Crown. Within the healthcare sector, it serves as the cornerstone for delivering equitable care, ensuring cultural safety, and actively working to reduce health disparities. By embedding the principles of Partnership, Protection, and Participation into our practice, health professionals are guided to deliver care that truly respects, honours, and uplifts Māori health outcomes.

Understanding Te Tiriti o Waitangi with regards to needling in physiotherapy is incredibly important because these interventions involve direct physical contact and penetration of the skin. This closely intersects with deeply held cultural beliefs around the sanctity of the human body. As practitioners, being aware of concepts such as tapu, particularly concerning the head and specific body areas, is essential to practicing safely and respectfully. Furthermore, applying holistic health frameworks like Te Whare Tapa Whā ensures that we treat more than just the physical injury, allowing us to support the mental, spiritual, and whānau wellbeing of our patients. This knowledge is vital for developing informed consent processes that honour cultural values and promote true patient autonomy.

This 2-hour webinar will comprehensively cover the importance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi with regards to needling in physiotherapy. It is a mandatory component for those completing the Certificate in Acupuncture and Dry Needling for Physiotherapy (Cert.ADNP). Physiotherapists who simply want to complete this module independently for their own professional development are warmly welcome to join us as well.

This foundation course, taught by Trevor Montgomery in association with PAANZ, is suitable for all physiotherapists wishing to expand their clinical reasoning and treatment skill sets with the use of dry needling. The course has a large practical component with particular emphasis on safe needling practice as set out in the latest PAANZ safety guidelines.

The course is an introduction to Dry Needling, learning to needle major muscle groups in all areas of the body, but focused looking at conditions such as Achilles Tendonosis, Shoulder Impingement, and SIJ dysfunctions. As we look at each of these conditions, we teach you how to needle trigger points in the muscles that may be dysfunctional in those conditions and then look at how to rehab the conditions using exercises/stretches that Trevor has developed. The Foundation Course teaches you to needle most major muscle groups in the body safely and plenty to take back and use with patients on Monday morning! However, we do not needle over the thorax in the Foundation Course because of the risk of pneumothorax. Needling muscles over the thorax is considered more advanced and, therefore, is included in the Advanced Upper Limb Course.

The course is designed to help practitioners integrate dry needling into their clinical approach to address the underlying causes of some of the more common clinical presentations we treat. Having taught over 240 introductory and advanced courses for AUT, PAANZ, the APA of Australia and Asia over the last 18 years. Trevor brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his teaching in this specialty area.

Prerequisites: All attendees must be registered in New Zealand and have a current APC. Non-PAANZ members and non-PNZ members are welcome.

​Are you looking for a formal qualification to show your clients you are fully trained and safe to practise needling? The Certificate in Acupuncture and Dry Needling for Physiotherapists (Cert.ADNP) is a comprehensive, blended learning pathway designed specifically for physiotherapists that provides an internationally recognised qualification, equivalent to a postgraduate certificate that you can take anywhere in the world.

​Important Note: This is the official starting point for the certification. You must register here to officially enrol in the pathway before you begin booking your individual practical courses.

​Registering for the Cert.ADNP today includes your online modules, your assessment and portfolio, examination fees, and the issuance of your certificate upon completion.

​Pathway Structure

For full information and FAQs, please click here.

​In summary, to achieve certification, candidates must complete four key components over a maximum timeframe of three years:

• ​Online Foundations: Two modules covering crucial safety protocols, an introduction to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and applications to needling in physiotherapy.
• ​Mandatory Practical Courses: Nine days of core face to face training, which covers foundational skills, acupuncture for musculoskeletal physiotherapy, and thoracic safety.
• ​Optional Practical Modules: A minimum of 14 hours of tailored elective courses to suit your clinical focus.
• ​Clinical Assessments: Robust evaluations including a live practical assessment, a self directed clinical portfolio, and online case study and literature critique presentations.

​Requirements

• ​Membership: Candidates must hold and maintain joint Physiotherapy New Zealand (PNZ) and Physiotherapy Acupuncture Association New Zealand (PAANZ) membership for the entire duration of their studies.
• ​Enrolment Fee: The initial $600 enrolment fee covers your two foundational online modules, all assessment marking, and the final certificate issuance.
• ​Ongoing Costs: The programme operates on a transparent, pay as you go structure for the remaining practical courses. With your PAANZ membership, courses provided will be at the PAANZ members’ rates.

​International Accreditation

Upon successful completion, candidates will attain the Cert.ADNP from PAANZ and a Certificate of Completion from the International Acupuncture and Dry Needling Specialty group of World Physiotherapy (IADAPT). This achievement is equivalent to a postgraduate certificate that you can take internationally.

​Pricing

$600 Cert.ADNP Enrolment: Includes the two foundational online modules, all assessment marking, and the final certificate issuance.