Are You In Pain Dry Needling Can Help You Find Relief
Did you know dry needling is beneficial and pain free?
Dry needling is a safe and effective method of treatment provided at Skillz Physical Therapy to reduce pain and muscle tension, while simultaneously improving mobility.
It has been proven to treat numerous musculoskeletal issues, including acute and chronic injuries, overuse injuries, neck pain, headaches, back pain, sciatica, muscle spasms, muscle strains, tendinitis, knee pain, hip pain, fibromyalgia, tennis elbow, golfers elbow, and more.
If you are in Evanston, IL looking for relief, or if youd like to gain more information on how dry needling could benefit you, request an appointment at Skillz Physical Therapy today!
Is Dry Needling Another Name For Acupuncture
Dry needling is used for the treatment of muscular pain and myofascial dysfunction. Developed by Dr. Chan Gunn, dry needling also called intramuscular stimulation is a treatment method that offers relief for overactive muscles and their corresponding trigger points. Although the term needles the muscles trigger points, no substance is injected. Dry needling is based on Western anatomical and neurophysiological principles, but is not the same as the Traditional Chinese Medicine technique of acupuncture. Since the same filament needles are used in both dry needling and acupuncture, it is understandable while confusion occurs between the two treatment methods, but they are not the same.
How Many Needles Will I Need
We like to start slowly during the first session to give you a feel for the technique. The first session will focus on a few muscles that are key to your problems. These key areas can give you excellent relief with less soreness. Subsequent treatments will target more specific areas to fine-tune the effect. Sessions are usually spaced 5-7 days apart and you should expect to feel a marked difference after only 2 or 3 sessions.
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Who Can Benefit From Dry Needling
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If youve been suffering with any type of chronic pain that wont go away, you now have a new option in your journey to health and wellness to combat the pain. Dry needling might be the solution for you. Here, we will outline some common conditions that dry needling can help, and let you know who can benefit from dry needling. Well also help answer briefly what it is.
Dry needling is a procedure where filament needles are injected in a persons trigger points. The trigger points that are in different muscles on the body respond to the pressure from the needles. These muscles discharge muscle pressure when triggered by a needle, assisting to lower the pain a person is feeling. The relaxation of muscles is additionally induced by allowing pressure on some pressure points.
Overuse, injury, stress or bad posture can all cause areas of pain in our body that can be described as trigger points or knots. Dry needling focuses treatment on these trigger points, causing the muscle to respond, release and is often accompanied by a relief in pain.
Who Can Benefit From Dry Needling
Here are some common conditions that dry needling can help:
Tension Headaches
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Tendonitis
Reducing Pain
Additionally, those who can benefit from dry needling include people suffering with:
- Neck pain
How Does It Work
Dry Needling for arthritis using dry needling is meant to address the existing pain from arthritis and reducing swelling and stiffness. Our needles are placed into the area of the body that are suffering from arthritis such as the neck, back, and hands.
The needles have no medication, and it is not an injection. We insert the needle into the muscles known as trigger points to target the tissues that are affected by arthritis. They work to eliminate pain, reduce tension, and relieve irritation of the area, making your life easier.
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What Is The Difference Between Acupuncture And Dry Needling
There are obvious similarities between dry needling and acupuncture in that the needles used are identical. Generally dry needling is based on Western anatomical and neurophysiological principles, which are not to be confused with the Traditional Chinese Medicine technique of acupuncture.
TCM is based on the use of pulses, coatings and meridians derived from ancient Chinese philosophy and culture, with traditional acupuncture needles inserted into defined acupoints, intended to unblock energy meridians and help create balance within bodily systems. Advocates of traditional acupuncture promote its use for treating a range of physical and psychological problems.
Unlike the specific tissue targets used in dry needling, acupoints do not necessarily match our understanding of anatomy and the proposed treatment mechanism is largely inconsistent with modern medical science.
Modern dry needling is based on current medical science and research known and accepted by todays primary care, orthopaedic, neurologic and pain management physicians. However, the positive effect on pain of inserting a needle is likely to be similar, whether administered as part of a dry needling or acupuncture treatment.
Free Dry Needling Consultation
If you are suffering from muscle or joint pain, the team at the Mile High Spine & Pain Center can develop a treatment plan for you. They will be able to determine if dry needle therapy is right for you. The Mile High Spine & Pain Center works with patients in the Broomfield and Westminster areas, and accepts most insurance plans. Call today at 507-0080 to schedule your free consultation.
FREE CONSULTATION
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How Much Does Dry Needling Cost
Before booking an appointment for dry needling, people should contact their insurance company to see if the treatment is covered and, if so, what the company needs to process the claim. The insurance company may also have a list of approved, or in-network practitioners. The price for dry needling sessions varies according to practitioner. Some charge about $40 to $60 per session, others as low as $15 per session.
Usually, people receiving dry needling attend between 3 to 6 sessions. More sessions may be necessary, depending on the pain and responses to the therapy.
The practitioner may offer a value pack of multiple sessions, which can be helpful in the absence of insurance coverage. They may also charge a reduced rate for clients without medical insurance or dry needling coverage.
How Does Dry Needling Help With Rehabilitation
The goal of dry needling is to amplify the nervous system response to a stimulus to set in motion the necessary reactions for healing. Neurochemicals, such as Endorphins and Corticosteroids, are released the immune system brings white blood cells to the injured area, and red blood cells carrying oxygen and nutrients run to the site . Dry needling relaxes contracted muscles. Much of the pain and dysfunction of a muscle is due to a muscle spasm that needs to stop. Dry needling can eliminate the pain and dysfunction of the trigger point by inhibiting the spasm or causing it to stop entirely.
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A Little More About These Causes Of Medial Knee Pain
- Meniscus irritation or tear is when you damage the meniscus, a cartilaginous structure between your upper leg and lower leg that keeps your knee in place. These are classified based on how and where they tear. A knee meniscus can tear can be minor, or major to where it restricts you from bending your knee.
- Medial collateral ligament sprain is when you have some degree of tear in the main supporting ligament on the inside of your knee. This ligament provides support to the inside of your knee and is one of the structures that prevent your knee from collapsing inwards. MCL sprains are graded based on severity from minor trauma to a complete tear of the MCL which may cause instability in your knee.
- Quadriceps tendinopathy is when you have tendon damage where your quadriceps muscles attach at the inside of your knee. The damage involves micro-tears in the tendon and the tendon has an inability to heal itself completely. Its essentially getting re-injured over and over.
Is knee osteoarthritis the cause of your medial knee pain? See this content I wrote about acupuncture for knee osteoarthritis > Acupuncture for Knee Osteoarthritis
How Will I Feel After Dry Needling
You will know positive change has occurred right after the session, as you should have decreased pain and increased mobility and because you will be sore in the way that you would feel after a heavy work out. The muscle will feel fatigued, and the soreness can last from a few hours to 1 or 2 days, but should not interfere with your everyday activities. We encourage you to be active during this time to keep the soreness to a minimum. You can continue your normal activities and gym routine. After a day or so, youll experience a new and lasting feeling of less pain and tightness. The injury and pain you thought was there to stay will actually start to diminish. If youve been having long standing, chronic muscle pain wed welcome the opportunity to explain this treatment option in more detail and answer any questions you may have.
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How Manual Physical Therapy Can Help Rheumatology Patients
Throughout human history, we have used our hands as a tool to survive, create, offer, communicate, heal, and comfort others. As physician and writer Abraham Verghese said, Modern medicine is in danger of losing a powerful, old-fashioned tool: human touch. Though many different professions provide hands-on treatment, the following article will discuss specific, evidence-based manual therapy techniques that physical therapists can offer your patients. When a physician refers a patient to physical therapy , manual therapy will likely be a part of their treatment, as human touch is a crucial component in the PT treatment philosophy and approach. The common manual therapy techniques that will be discussed include functional dry needling , specific soft-tissue mobilizations , myofascial release , muscle energy techniques , and joint mobilization and manipulation. This article will provide knowledge regarding the benefits of manual therapy techniques that PTs perform, help you gain understanding of the principles and physiology behind each technique, and provide evidence to support each technique.
Can Dry Needling Help You
Dry needling is a procedure used to treat trigger points in muscles. Trigger points are tight knots in a muscle that can be painful and reduce the function of a muscle. Certain trigger points can have a referred pain and correlation with areas in the foot.An extremely thin needle is used to penetrates through the skin to reach these trigger points and release the knot, which can essentially reduce symptoms and increase muscle function. No local anaesthetic is needed during the treatment, as it is often painless. Many people may associate dry needling and acupuncture as the same procedure. The ideologies and training for dry needling and acupuncture are quite separate. For qualified Podiatrists to practice dry needling, further education and training is required outside of their University degree.
A recent randomized control study found that dry needling of myofascial trigger points was effective in the treatment of plantar heel pain compared to sham dry needling . This Study demonstrates that dry needling can be used as the sole intervention however, dry needling can also be utilized to complement other treatments. For example, it may be used to reduce the tightness in a muscle to allow for a more efficient stretching program.
Benefits of dry needling:
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Your Top 6 Dry Needling Questions Answered
Dry needling is a technique that is fast gaining appreciation within the physiotherapy world, with many practitioners throughout Australia now trained in the use of acupuncture needles to assist with their clients pain and rehabilitation. I found myself interested in dry needling and its application from an early stage in my physiotherapy career, and have undertaken dry needling courses and have also undertaken formal postgraduate training in musculoskeletal acupuncture.
In this blog article I wanted to answer common questions about dry needling, including:
1. What is dry needling?2. What is the difference between acupuncture and dry needling?3. How does dry needling work?4. What will I feel during my dry needling session?5. Is dry needling safe?6. Where does dry needling fit into my rehabilitation plan?
Who Should Not Have Dry Needling Treatments
- Pregnant women
- People who are not able to understand the treatment
- People who are very afraid of needles
Any patient who is considering dry needling should consult his or her doctor first. This is particularly true for people taking blood thinners and people who are only recently recovering from surgery.
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Risks And Side Effects Of Dry Needling
Although there may be some side effects after a dry needling session, complications are rare. Side effects may include:
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Sore muscles, which may be immediate or a few hours after the session. A warm compress for 20 minutes several times a day can help soothe the area.
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Bruising
- Temporary increase in the pain symptoms that the needling is meant to treat
The very rare complication associated with dry needling occurs if the needle is inserted far enough to puncture an organ, such as a lung.
Where Does Dry Needling Fit Into My Rehabilitation Plan
Dry needling is the modality of choice when it comes to treating acute injuries, muscle spasms or muscle pattern imbalances. It is very common to initiate dry needling at the beginning of your treatment program in order to break the pain cycle. Once that is achieved, other treatment options are introduced.
Typically, it takes several visits for a positive reaction to take place, as the needling is looking to cause mechanical and biochemical changes without any pharmacological means. Therefore, we are looking for a cumulative response to achieve a certain threshold after which the pain cycle is disturbed.
While dry needling can be very useful in relieving pain it does not necessarily address the source of the pain. For example, someone with advanced osteoarthritis of the hip or knee may have associated secondary muscular pain as the muscles compensate to avoid movement related with pain. Dry needling can be valuable in relieving the pain but it will not reverse the osteoarthritic alterations in the hip that are the source of the muscular pain.
The benefits of Dry Needling frequently include more than just relief from a particular condition. Many people find that it can also lead to increased energy levels, better appetite and sleep as well as an enhanced sense of overall wellbeing.
See this video from the Hawthorn Hawkes of a player undertaking a dry needling session with their physiotherapist.
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Dry Needling: The Most Painful Thing Ive Ever Loved
Imagine you have pockets of a highly pressurized, toxic gas caught in your shoulders. Now imagine these painful pockets keep growing in size, every hour of the day, inflaming your muscles and pinching your nerves. And, as a result youre miserable grasping to keep your sanity.
Then imagine you find a medical professional willing to puncture your skin and release all that painful pressure after which some soreness remains, although it’s nothing compared to the blessed relief youre now feeling.
That procedure, dry needling, is what works best for me and the painful spasms that course through my shoulders. The needles deflate my muscle spasms, which feels like air rushing out of an overfilled balloon. It is, without a doubt, the most painful thing I’ve ever loved.
Prior to my relationship with dry needling, I had an on-again-off-again fling with trigger point injections. These injections provided six to eight weeks of relief. But the liquid injected contains a steroid, so the injections weren’t a viable long-term plan. Because what Im dealing with is a long-term problem, my shoulders and I moved on to dry needling, which involves no injections, just a bit of brutal poking.
What You Need To Know About Dry Needling For Low Back Pain
Myofascial trigger points are among the most common forms of low back pain. When activated, these tender and stiff knots of bundled spinal muscles can reduce your range of motion and cause referred painthat is, pain that spreadssuch as from your low back into one or more areas of the hip, groin, abdominal, gluteus muscles, tailbone, and/or thigh. An emerging treatment for trigger points is dry needling, and research published in 2018 said this manual technique may effectively treat trigger point-related low back pain when coupled with other therapies.1
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Highlights From The Research Paper On Dry Needling Pain Relief And Arthritis Includes:
- Double blind randomized controlled study
- Purpose of the study to determine the short-term effects of dry needling on pain, hip ROM and physical function in patients with hip osteoarthritis
- 30 patients involved in the research project
- Over the course of three sessions, dry needling was applied to the active muscle trigger points of the iliopsoas, rectus femoris, tensor fasciae latae and gluteus minimus muscles
- These muscles are all major hip stabilizers