Dry needling is a form of physical therapy used to treat musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction. It is an invasive form of myofascial release in which thin, flexible needles are inserted into the body. The areas where the needles are placed in the body is determined by accurate anatomical knowledge based on sound scientific reasoning within a biomedical paradigm. This is different to acupuncture, which is a treatment technique related to Chinese Medicine, and takes a philosophical rather than empirical approach to the body.
For which conditions can Dry Needling be used?
Dry needling can be used to treat many musculoskeletal conditions.
It is very important to realise that using the technique outside of a balanced, professionally designed treatment regime that includes therapeutic exercise, manual therapy and patient education is not recommended. That said, the technique is effective in treating back and neck pain, muscle strains, tight and painful scars, headaches, shoulder pain, and a myriad of other problems related to the muscles, pain and how the body copes with these.
What are the Side Effects of Dry Needling?
There are relatively few side effects, which is one of the great advantages of this effective therapy. The more common ones include discomfort from the needling procedure, bruising, and occasionally a very small amount of bleeding. Less commonly, patients may experience transient feelings of drowsiness, euphoria, tearfulness, sweating or chills
How Does Dry Needling Work?
Dry needling works in at least 3 different ways depending on what you do with the needle.
- Feel good hormones
- Muscle relaxation
- Alignment & balance
Feel Good Hormones
Firstly, the simple insertion of a needle and the subsequent stimulation of the needle gives you a rush of natural painkillers called opioids, and a feel good hormone called serotonin. These actively reduce your pain, and this enables you to exercise more effectively.
Muscle Relaxation
Secondly, using a needle to stimulate a trigger point in a muscle frees the muscle up to work more efficiently by causing it to twitch and release. This helps the local muscle to both contract and lengthen better, and will allow you to have more power and better flexibility in the muscle. This also reduces local muscle pain.
Alignment & Balance
Thirdly, by using a combination of needles in different parts of the biomechanical system, your therapist can help you align and balance out your movement patterns as a whole.
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