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Dry Needling
Most of our Physiotherapists are trained in Dry Needling.
Dry needling involves the use of acupuncture type needles being introduced into trigger points in muscles to stimulate a ‘twitch’ response resulting in ‘release or relaxation’ of a hyperirritable, taut band of muscle.
The theory is to restore normal muscle function and is to be used in conjunction with an exercise program which is also targeted at improving biomechanical impairments leading to muscle dysfunction and myofascial trigger point formation. Thus it is an integrated approach which aims to target the underlying cause for the muscle dysfunction not just treating the result, eg pain.
As this is dry needling and NOT Traditional Acupuncture, the treatment effect relies on different rationale.
Scroll down for FAQs regarding dry needling.
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Benefits
What is involved?
Will dry needling help me?
Is dry needling safe?
Is it effective?
There are a number of proposed benefits of dry needling and the research into this form of treatment has significantly increased over the past 10 years!
Dry needling aims to reduce central sensitisation, also known as the central nervous system’s hypersensitivity to pain, reduce local and referred pain, improve muscle activation patterns leading to improved range of motion and can also result in chemical alterations around myofascial trigger points. These trigger points can occur from unaccustomed muscle loading as well low-load repetitive tasks and sustained postures such as sitting at a desk at work!
Dry needling is a sterile technique utilising single use needles, gloves and alcohol wipes to limit the risk of infection. The whole treatment usually only lasts a few minutes and involves the insertion of the needle into the skin and then into the muscle with the aim to elicit a twitch response.
Generally, you won’t feel the insertion of the needle. What you will feel is a dull ache and hopefully a twitch in the muscle is a great response in regards to treatment efficacy. You may experience a dull ache post therapy and the sensation of a bruise which is completely normal and will settle down over the next couple of days at worst. You will often still walk out with reduced sensation of pain despite the dull ache you may experience. To help soften the achy effect you may use ice or heat post treatment.
Dry needling can be effective for a range of conditions, and your physiotherapist will assess you first and let you know if they think it will be useful for you.
Some common conditions we use dry needling for include:
- Tennis and golfers elbow
- Hip/buttock/gluteal pain
- Lower back pain
- Shin splints or plantar fasciitis
- Calf strains
- Trapezius pain
- Neck pain or tension headaches
Dry needling is a very safe treatment when performed by trained professionals and serious side effects are very rare – less than 1 per 10,000 treatments. The technique used is a clean, sterile technique which limits any risk of infection.
As with any treatment there may be some associated side effects which your practitioner will discuss with you and may include drowsiness, nausea or minor bleeding or bruising.
Like any physiotherapy treatment you will be required to perform some corrective exercises along with the dry needling. Often the dry needle will reduce the pain from the local issue but does not necessarily fix the root cause of the problem. This is where the exercises come in. Like any injury or condition this may require a few sessions to teach the body how to operate effectively and reduce the likelihood that the condition or injury will return!
