You have questions, I have answers.
You may have heard of Dry Needling, or you may know someone who has had it. Let me help you understand this incredibly helpful physical therapy treatment and see if it is right for you.
What is Dry Needling?
Dry Needling is a form of instrument assisted soft tissue manipulation that is used by your physical therapist to treat a range of ailments. It is generally used in conjunction with other treatments, but can be used as a standalone treatment.
Dry needling uses very fine needles of varying sizes to create a change in your tissues. It is called dry needling because the needles do not have medication on them, and they are not able to inject medication.
Dry Needling vs Acupuncture
While dry needling and acupuncture use the same type of needles; they have different treatment philosophies.
Acupuncture, an ancient Eastern medicine treatment, is based on the flow of energy ("qi" pronounced chee) through the body along meridians. Acupuncturists uses needles to keep the qi flowing if "blockages" have formed along the meridians. They believe these "blockages" cause pain, dysfunction, or illness.
Dry needling is based in Western medicine and relies more on your body's anatomy, and in the case of the Integrative Dry Needling I am trained in, your peripheral nervous system . Pain, dysfunction, spasms, etc are treated based on the palpated location of your issue as well as the course of the peripheral nerves associated with the affected area. Dry needling uses the body's natural response to injury to try to improve your issue.
How Does Dry Needling Work?
The body treats the needles like any other injury and this triggers the natural response mentioned above. This response is inflammatory in nature. It brings fresh blood flow and healing factors to the affected area to try to return the body to "normal". The needles also work to get the affected area of muscle to contract more and then relax through a "twitch response". With Integrative Dry Needling, the practitioner includes needles based around your peripheral nervous system to generate a greater response.
Needling helps with:
Tendonitis/Tendinosis
Trigger Points
Muscle Restrictions
Scar Tissue Restrictions
Pain
Inflammation
Muscle Activation (when combined with electrical stimulation)
There are various sizes of needles so that your therapist can choose the appropriate size for the area. This allows therapists to treat deep issues they ordinarily couldn't with their hands or other instruments.
Is Dry Needling Painful?
Everyone processes pain differently. Generally, most people report a dull ache/cramping sensation in the muscles. This is good and expected. Sometimes people feel the initial stick of the needle, but it is usually mild. The needles are VERY thin. If there is pain with the needle then the insertion can be stopped and it usually resolves in a few seconds. Then you can proceed with inserting the needle fully. There are parts of the body that are generally more sensitive and have the chance to be more painful. This can (and should) be fully explained to you by your therapist. Most people feel the benefits of the needling far out-weigh the mild discomfort they may feel.
How Much Does Dry Needling Cost?
This will depend on your therapist. I can only speak to the way I use dry needling. I include it as part of a regular, 1-hr treatment session if I feel it would be beneficial and my patient consents to using it.
I also do a 30 min dry needling only session consisting of dry needling and appropriate after care, but not a full session.
You can get more information on my services HERE
If you are seeing another provider, you will have to ask them how they charge. Some insurances will/won't cover dry needling depending on how it is coded.
Dry Needling Risks
Just like any other PT treatment, there are risks involved with dry needling. Most are very mild, but a few could be more concerning. Common, mild risks include but aren't limited to:
Pain
Bruising
Bleeding
Muscle Soreness
Allergic Reaction to the Needles
There are other risks depending on the area being treated. Your therapist should fully explain the risks to you prior to your treatment.
In the hands of a skilled practitioner, dry needling is a very safe treatment option. Personally I have taken basic and advanced needling courses to be skilled enough to call myself certified in dry needling.
I hope this has helped and given you good information on dry needling and everything that is associated with it.
If you would like more information you can check out my website HERE
If you would like me to send you an informational sheet on dry needling, you can contact me HERE
If you would like to know more about the history of dry needling, you can click HERE
If you would like to see some current research on the effectiveness of dry needling, you can click HERE
As always, thank you very much for your time! I hope you were informed and entertained!
Dr. Matt
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