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Treatments for Dry Needling

What Is Dry Needling?

Dry needling is a physiotherapeutic procedure used by physiotherapists and osteopaths to treat pain in the muscle and tissue. It is also known as trigger point dry needling, intramuscular stimulation or myofascial trigger point dry needling.

Muscles sometimes develop knotted areas called trigger points. These trigger points are highly sensitive and can be painful when touched. They are often the cause of referred pain.

The technique uses a “dry” needle which is a needle without medication or injection to stimulate the tissue. Physiotherapists use either solid filiform needles or hollow-core hypodermic needles to push through the skin into these trigger points.

How Does Dry Needling Work?

Dry needling assists with decreasing local muscular pain and improving function through the restoration of a muscle’s ability to lengthen and shorten normally by releasing myofascial trigger points.

When a fine filament needle is inserted into the centre of a myofascial trigger point, blood pools around the needle triggering the contracted muscle fibres to relax by providing those fibres with fresh oxygen and nutrients. Any additional acidic chemicals are also flushed away.

This leads to decompression of the local blood and nerve supply, thereby relieving myofascial pain.

What Are the Treatment Approaches in Dry Needling?

Physiotherapists use dry needling with the goal of inactivating trigger points to relieve pain. Depending on what type of pain is being treated and the severity, the needles may be placed deeply or superficially for shorter or longer periods of time. Short periods of time mean the needle will stay in the muscle for seconds while longer periods could mean 10 to 15 minutes.

The needle sites can be targeted at the site of taut, painful muscle bands, or near the spine where the nerve root may have become irritated and extremely sensitive. Once the needle is inserted, it can be manually or electrically stimulated for the desired effect of treatment.

Dry needling is not a standalone procedure. It is often used as a part of an overall plan that will likely include the following:

  • Exercise
  • Soft tissue mobilisation
  • Manual therapy
  • Massage
  • Heat therapy

What Ailments and Conditions Can Be Treated with Dry Needling?

Dry needling is used to treat dysfunction of skeletal muscle and connective tissue, minimise peripheral pain, and to increase range of motion that may be limited due to muscle tightness or scar tissue. It can be used to treat myofascial trigger points as well as connective tissue, neural ailments and muscular ailments. Other conditions include:

  • Tenditis
  • Joint problems
  • Lumbar disc herniation with or without sciatica
  • Chronic pain
  • Plantar fasciitis
  • Lumbar strains/sprains
  • Temporomandibular joint disorders and other jaw and mouth problems
  • Whiplash
  • Migraine and tension-type headaches
  • Carpal tunnel syndrome and other repetitive motion disorders
  • Spinal problems
  • Phantom pain
  • Night cramps
  • Post-herpetic neuralgia
  • Pelvic pains

What Are the Benefits of Dry Needling?

Intramuscular therapy or dry needling has been very successful for patients with chronic low back pain and sciatica symptoms. Other benefits of dry needling include:

  • Dry needling improves pain control
  • It provides relief for muscular stiffness
  • It reverses some aspects of central sensitisation that causes amplification of pain in the spinal cord, as well as reduce local and referred pain
  • It improves muscle activation patterns and alters the chemical environment of trigger points
  • It improves vascularisation
  • It inhibits an inflammatory response
  • It normalises dysfunctions of the motor end plates which are the sites at which nerve impulses are transmitted to the neurons
  • It is known to increase a range of motion and improve flexibility
  • It improves or regulates structural or functional damage
  • It helps speed up the patient’s return to active rehabilitation.

Get Help

Dry needling is a very safe and effective treatment which when carried out by a trained professional such as a physiotherapist, can be used in the treatment and management of musculoskeletal conditions. Our registered professionals are trained and equipped to administer this technique to improve your health. Contact us today.

FAQ’s

Are the needles used in dry needling used for every patient?
No. The needles are sterile and single-use needles which are discarded immediately after use.
What is the difference between dry needling and acupuncture?
Though similar, dry needling focuses on the reduction of pain through the release of trigger points in the muscle. Acupuncture on the other hand, focuses on treatment of medical conditions by restoring the flow of energy in the body.
Is dry needling painful?
Needling of a normal muscle is painless. However, a shortened muscle will grasp the needle producing a cramping sensation. Patients experience different sensations when being needled such as muscle soreness, aching and muscle twitch.
What are the side effects of dry needling?
They include:

  • Post needle soreness
  • Local bleeding at the needle site
  • Bruising
  • Syncopal responses

However, they all clear up within a week after treatment.

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