Dry Needling at a Glance

What is Dry Needling?

  • Dry needling is a type of treatment that utilizes a stainless steel filiform needle which is inserted into muscles, ligaments, fascia, and similar soft tissues for treatment along with being an intervention for various pain generating conditions.  Dry needling can be utilized to allow for proper movement patterns by decreasing muscular tension.

  • Electrical stimulation may be applied to the needle (known as intramuscular stimulation) when inserted creating the body to produce a local response to help the tissue to begin repair, but depending on length and duration will lead to systemic release of pain reducing chemicals. During dry needling you can occasionally have a local twitch response and this will be elicited by during electrical stimulation.

  • Dry needling focuses on tissues contributing to neuromuscular skeletal dysfunction including: muscle, fascia, tendons, joint capsules, ligaments, nerve structures, and inflammatory responses.


Why is Dry Needling Different from Acupuncture?

  • Traditional acupuncture is an eastern philosophy while dry needling is primarily  a western philosophy.  Acupuncture is utilized primarily to focus on balancing the flow of energy (chi) in the body by re-balancing the body's meridians.

 

Why would I want to have a needle put into me?

  • Reduce Muscle Tension: Dry needling can be utilized around trigger points to create a neurologic response to reduce the associated pain and tension related to a trigger point.

  • Reduce Pain: Trigger points are often associated with pain due to the increased muscle tension. Trigger points can be related to local pain (at the site of the trigger point) or referred pain (where the trigger points sends pain to)

  • Stimulates Healing: Insertion of the needle into painful regions or injured tissues (acute or chronic pain) creates local inflammatory response, sends cells to focus on the healing process essentially kickstarting the body to focus on healing.

 

What is a Twitch Response?

  • A twitch is an involuntary spinal cord reflex contraction of the muscle fibers in the area where the needle was placed.

 

Do I need dry needling?

  • This is dependent on an individual basis and should be discussed with your provider. Dry needling can be utilized in several situations including muscle tightness, strain/sprains, muscle activation, and swelling reduction along with pain control.

 

What are some examples of treated conditions with dry needling?

  • Tension Headaches

  • Sciatica

  • Plantar fasciitis

  • Piriformis syndrome

  • Golfer's and Tennis Elbow

  • Tendinitis conditions

  • Chronic Pain syndromes

Ryan Lewis