Once appreciated as purely histologic and physiologic, we now know dry needling also has a profound impact [and arguably more powerful therapeutic effect] on our patients' nervous systems. As dry needling has grown in popularity over the last 2-3 decades, our understanding of its therapeutic mechanisms has also grown. We are increasingly aware of the effects this treatment can have on a patient's central nervous system, including improvements in somatosensory organization, neuro-motor function, recruitment patterning, and pain processing. In this session, we will discuss the foundational theories that this treatment was built upon, the modern-day concepts and research that have driven how and why we currently utilize dry needling, and what we have yet to learn about this game-changing intervention in neuromuscular rehab.