Dry Needling: What is it and How Does it Work?
What is dry needling?
According to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), dry needling is defined as a skilled intervention that uses a thin filiform needle to penetrate the skin and stimulate underlying myofascial trigger points, muscular, and connective tissues for the management of neuromusculoskeletal pain and movement impairments. Dry Needling is a technique used to treat dysfunctions in skeletal muscle, fascia, and connective tissue, and, diminish persistent peripheral nociceptive input, and reduce or restore impairments of body structure and function leading to improved activity and participation.
Simply put, dry needling is a skilled intervention used by a trained clinician to desensitize irritable tissues, restore ROM, improve function, and create an environment to facilitate tissue healing. Dry needling can also be combined with electrical stimulation to improve muscle activation, provide biofeedback to the nervous system, and increase local tissue circulation to improve blood flow and reduce inflammation.
How is it different than acupuncture?
Although dry needling and acupuncture utilize the same type of needle, the treatment approaches vary significantly. Dry needling focuses on targeting and treating specific musculoskeletal structures such as muscles, ligaments, and tendons to reduce pain and dysfunction along common referral patterns. Acupuncture typically utilizes an Eastern medicine approach to normalize the body’s energy fields or “Chi” along the pathways connecting acupuncture points, known as meridians.
What to expect during a session of dry needling?
After performing a thorough examination, you and your therapist will discuss the option of dry needling, discuss any risk factors, and decide whether it is a good option for your treatment. If you both decide to proceed with dry needling, therapist will position you comfortably to allow for adequate exposure of the treatment area. They will then clean the area with a sanitizing agent and insert the needle. They may choose to gently move the needle in and out of the muscle, a term referred to as pistoning, to elicit a “twitch response” in the muscle. The twitch response often feels like a mild muscle cramp. The “twitch response” is a positive result allowing for physiological changes within the muscle such as reduced muscle tone and stiffness and a reduction in local inflammatory chemicals. You may also experience referral or reproduction of your familiar pain. Depending on the goal of the treatment, your clinician may decide to insert multiple needles or combine treatment with electrical stimulation to potentiate the treatment effects.
How many sessions of dry needling will you need?
While every individual situation is different, most people will experience significant improvement in symptoms within the first 2-3 sessions of dry needling. While we do find this technique extremely beneficial to reduce pain and restore function, it is important to note that long-term relief is typically achieved when combining dry needling with progressive exercise.
What are the side effects of dry needling?
The most common symptoms following dry needling include muscle soreness, fatigue, and potential bruising. While infection is a risk, it is rare as sterile needles are used in treatment and our we are careful to properly sanitize the area being treated.
What areas do we most commonly treat with the use of dry needling?
Overuse injuries include muscle strains and tendon/ligament sprains
Headaches
Neck pain
Low back pain
Epicondylitis (tennis or golfer’s elbow)
Rotator cuff injuries
Shoulder impingement
Carpal Tunnel syndrome
Piriformis syndrome
Patellar tendinitis
Achilles’ tendinopathy
Plantar fasciitis
If you are curious whether dry needling may be beneficial to help you get past pain and back to crushing your fitness goals, then shoot us an email or schedule a free 30-minute call with one of our therapists!
