Dry Needling
What is Dry Needling?
Dry Needling, also known as Trigger point dry needling, is the practice of using small needles to treat musculoskeletal conditions. Trigger points are palpable tight and tender spots within the muscles that can be released with the use of a small needle. Evidence has shown that dry needling can be effective in treating a wide variety of conditions such as:
Conditions Dry Needling Can Treat
Dry Needling can help relieve and treat the following conditions, as well as many others.
- Headaches and neck pain
- Shoulder pain and tendinitis, shoulder impingement, rotator cuff strains, frozen shoulder
- Tennis elbow and golfers elbow
- Wrist and thumb pain
- Mid and lower back pain
- Hip pain, hip tendinitis, IT band pain
- Knee pain, runner's knee, knee cap issues
- Plantar fasciitis, foot and heel pain
- Management of scar tissue
- Chronic muscle spasm
How is Dry Needling different from acupuncture?
Dry Needling in Physical Therapy is based on musculoskeletal and neural anatomy. Physical Therapists are targeting muscle, tendons and ligaments with the goal of loosening the tissue to improve pain and mobility. Traditional Chinese Medicine or Acupuncture is targeting the Qi (energy systems) to restore the yin and yang balance.
What to expect from a dry needling session.
We ask that you wear loose fitting, comfortable clothing so we can address the areas that are causing you pain. Each needle is new and comes in a steralized tube and discarded after treatment. Some needles inserted will be painless and some may cause some brief discomfort. Sometimes the needle can cause the muscle to twitch as it is inserted but this is normal. The needles are left in place for several minutes to release the tissue. This is usually followed by manual therapy techniques and exercise to re-train the newly released muscle. Some people feel the difference immediately after the treatment and sometimes it can take a day or two. The needles create a small amount of inflammation that the body recognizes needs healing. Due to his, some localized soreness can occur for 24-48 hours after the dry needling. Some injuries or conditions will respond with one session, other, more chronic conditions may need several sessions. Clients with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome or other connective tissue disorders or fibromyalgia may need periodic sessions to manage tissue tightness, muscle spasm or prevent flare ups.
What is electro dry needling?
Electric stimulation has been used for pain relief for a long time, many people use a form of electric stimulation at home known as TENS. With electro dry needling, a special electric stimulation unit can be attached to the needles for a more powerful pain relief effect than electric stimulation alone. The sensation from the electric stimulation overwhelms the small nerve fibers that transmit pain sensation to provide a more lasting pain relief. This also promotes increased blood flow to the area for healing. Please note that this cannot be done for every part of the body and cannot be performed if you are pregnant
Do you have an injury that has been causing you pain? Please call us at 508-863-4792 to see how dry needling can help you and your specific injury. We would be happy to answer any additional questions.