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The Effectiveness of Dry Needling

By: Dr. Andrea Sigsbee, PT, DPT, Cert. Dry Needling 


History and Purpose of Dry Needling


Dry needling is one of the many additional forms of treatments Physical Therapists use in conjunction with exercise in order to facilitate the healing process or progress therapy results. It is called “dry” needling because there is no liquid or chemical solution involved when the needle is inserted into the tissue. Its beginnings date back to the 1800s in London and made their way to the Americas in the 1930s through Dr. Janet Travell, an American physician and medical researcher, and Dr. David Simmons, an aerospace physician. It is considered a minimally invasive technique that involves the penetration of a thin needle through an anatomical feature such as a muscle, ligament, tendon, fascia, peripheral nerve, scar tissue, or onto a bone. It differs with acupuncture in its reasoning and theory behind it. Acupuncturists use the needles to target a certain meridian or energy in the body whereas Physical Therapists use it to target an anatomical feature such as the ones mentioned above. Both theories are beneficial in their own ways- they are just different. 




Benefits, Causes, and Side Effects of Dry Needling


Dry needling has a variety of benefits. Some of them being decreased pain, decreased inflammation, decreased tightness, decreased scar tissue buildup, improved range of motion, and increased blood flow and circulation. Dry needling can be used to target a trigger point within the muscle which is usually caused by either a lack of muscular contraction (aka having a sedentary lifestyle or not engaging in enough resistance training) or too much muscular contraction (aka too much activity or resistance training). It’s important to stay active and engage in some form of resistance training because it allows the muscles in your body to sufficiently contract which allows for sufficient blood flow and circulation, adequate oxygen levels, and low lactic acid levels- all factors that help keep a body strong and pain free. These muscular trigger points, when developed, can cause severe tightness, decreased range of motion, and pain. The trigger points can also develop if the opposite occurs meaning there is too much activity or resistance training being done without sufficient recovery time. Adequate recovery can include hydration with electrolytes, ice baths, low intensity cardio, stretches, and mobility exercises.  Dry needling is commonly used with electrical stimulation (e-stim) which involves the use of an electrical current that causes the effects of the needle to go beyond where it was inserted. In other words, it allows for a more widespread effect in the muscle, tendon, bone, etc. There are a variety of musculoskeletal diagnoses that benefit from trigger point dry needling including shoulder impingement, frozen shoulder, herniated discs, sciatica, patellar tendinitis, achilles tendinitis, posterior tibialis tendinitis, plantar fasciitis, osteoarthritis,  headaches, hypermobilities, inflammatory conditions, and degenerative joint and disc diseases. 


In addition to releasing muscular trigger points, dry needling can also be used to stimulate the body’s own immune response. The theory behind this is that the trauma and lesion created by the needle immediately activates the body’s immune response and initiates the mechanisms of “self healing”. This process not only involves the immune system, but also the nervous, endocrine, and cardiovascular systems which help return the body to its homeostatic balance by lowering stress levels and initiating tissue healing.


When patients come into Motion Rx, we make sure to always inform them of the normal and common side effects of dry needling which include bleeding, bruising, pain during and after treatment, drowsiness, muscle soreness, and fatigue. It is also recommended to wait anywhere from 48-72 hours until the next needling session is done to allow for adequate healing time.


It is important to note that dry needling ALONE will not fix the injury or issue you’re dealing with, however, in conjunction with exercises, stretches, and other manual therapy techniques, it can be a GAME CHANGER!!



If you, or someone you know is dealing with pain of any kind in the shoulder/scapula region please feel free to reach out to us, we are here to help! 


Phone: 469-967-1278

 
 
 
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