What Is Dry Needling?

What is dry needling? Dry needling is quickly becoming popular among patients choosing therapeutic treatments to get relief from muscle pain. Dry needling is a procedure where filament needles are gently inserted in a person’s 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. Insertion of needles into the muscle for dry needling is typically painless and relief can be felt, for some conditions, instantly.

The term dry needling is used to mean the non-injection type of needle. In an injection process, hypodermic needles are meant to inject chemicals or other operators like anesthesia and saline into tissues of some body parts. On the other side, in dry needling, the treatment is done by needles which give therapeutic impacts when directed into the tissues of the body. Filament needles, like those utilized in acupuncture, are additionally employed in this treatment.

The process is similar to acupuncture where the needles are inserted into certain parts of the body, but is different from acupuncture in some regards as well. Acupuncture focuses on energy currents in the body, while dry needling focuses on muscles. It is said that this procedure is used to relieve pain, particularly the type of pain identifying with the muscles and the tissues. The points in the body where the needles inserted are said to be the trigger points where pain originates. Therefore, the pain relief can sometimes be felt immediately.

What is dry needling used for?

Dry needling is growing in popularity for dealing with chronic pain from conditions such as: tendonitis, migraines, carpal tunnel, spinal dysfunction and cancer pain, and can be administered by trained therapeutic professionals and physical therapists. If dry needling is something you are considering using to treat your condition, talk with one of our therapists at Above and Beyond Physical Therapy today.