Dry Needling
Dry Needling
Dry Needling – or intramuscular stimulation, as it is also known – is the use of extremely fine, solid, stainless steel needles known as filiform needles for the treatment of muscle pain. The analgesia produced by needling a pain spot has been called the “Needle effect”. It is distinct from acupuncture in that the treatment is applied to the trigger point, in other words to the direct and palpable source of the pain rather than the meridians (channels of life energy or qi) of traditional Chinese medicine.
Dry Needling and Myofascial Pain Syndrome
Myofascial tissue is the layer of connective tissue which covers muscles. Myofascial trigger points are knots of hypersensitive connective tissue which may cause pain at the trigger point or in another part of the body. Myofascial pain can mimic the pain of many other medical conditions including chest pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, sciatica, migraine headaches and many more. Thus it is frequently overlooked as a source of the pain causing the symptoms.
Dry needling may be used to treat the symptoms. A filiform needle is inserted into the skin and muscle at the myofascial trigger point to elicit a local twitch response (LTR) which is an involuntary spinal cord reflex in which the muscle fibres in the taut band of muscle contract.
Conditions which respond to dry needling include, but are not limited to:
- Myofascial pain
- Headaches
- Frozen shoulder
- Tennis elbow
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Golfer’s elbow
- Buttock pain
- Leg pain
- Hamstring strains
- Shin splints
- Muscle spasms
- Fibromyalgia
- Hip pain
- Knee pain
- Repetitive strain injuries
If you think the source of your pain could be myofascial, give me a call on 086 3893413 to discuss how dry needling might help you.