DRY NEEDLING
I passed a course on Dry Needling 6 years ago now . I use this method for trigger point therapy and find it to be very successful. The needling is effective for chronic (long standing injuries) I incorporate this where I deem necessary during a 50 or 25 minute treatment. It is also effective for migraine relief and sinus problems.
A primary aim of Myofascial Trigger Point Dry Needling is to achieve a local twitch response, in turn reducing tension and pain. Myofascial Trigger Point Dry Needling is an effective treatment for chronic pain of neuropathic origin and has been demonstrated to have very few side effects.
So I can offer this as a 30 minute treatment including palpation and location of trigger points or I may choose to use in a regular 50 minute sports massage treatment where I believe it to be beneficial.
Dry Needling Additional Information.
Dry Needling is a hands-on physical therapy approach to treat Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction. A variety of manual techniques are used during the physical therapy treatments to inactivate myofacial trigger points, and to restore normal muscle tones, muscle length, coordination, function and strength. All skeletal muscles anywhere in the body can be treated this way.
What Is a Trigger Point?
A myofascial trigger point is a hyper-irritable spot in a muscle which is located in a taut (tight) band and is painful to touch. This hypersensitive spot or nodule (the “knot”), can give characteristic referred pain, referred tenderness and other referred symptoms in areas other then where the muscle is located. (Travel and Simons in Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual). Janet Travell, MD first described the existence of trigger points in the 1940’s.
Treatment of Myofascial Trigger Points
There are several ways to treat myofascial trigger points. Travell and Simons note that trigger points can be treated by ischemic compression, with spray and stretch, injection with local anesthetic (trigger point injections) and with dry needling.
What is Dry Needling?
Dry Needling is a valuable, effective and efficient adjunct treatment to inactivate myofascial trigger points. It is an invasive procedure in which a thin solid filament sterile needle is used. Dry Needling involves insertion and repetitive manipulation of the needle in the myofascial trigger point. The purpose of this technique is to inactivate the myofascial trigger points by producing a local twitch response. This local twitch response then releases the shortened bands of muscle fibers. The result is muscle relaxation and pain relief. Eliciting this local twitch response is key for successful deactivation of the trigger point. No medication of any kind is injected.