What is Dry Needling and How Can it Relieve Your Pain?

Do you have a chronic nagging issue? Does it prevent you from doing the things you love to do like running, playing tennis, or playing golf? Do you have a lingering tightness in your muscles that you just can’t seem to get rid of no matter how many massages you get or how many times you foam roll?  You’ve come to the right place for advice – it sounds like it’s time to try Dry Needling.

Without getting too nerdy as to why Dry Needling works, let me first explain what it is.  Dry needling is the use of very small thin needles to help improve blood flow, improve healing, decrease pain and improve function.

Sometimes the adhesion or tightness is located deep into the muscle so that we are unable to effectively treat it with our hands. That is what the needles do best. They get deep down to the area of the problem so they can help release those areas of chronic tightness.

Now for the nerdy part. Dry needling helps release trigger points and areas of chronic tightness by restarting the healing process. So the point of the needle is to create microtrauma to the area in order to facilitate a restart of the healing process.

Many times when you have an injury like a hamstring pull or a pulled muscle in your back, your body starts the healing process, but never finishes it. So the body remains slightly injured and continues to have increased pain with increased activity. The needle helps the body begin the healing process again so that this time it can fully recover. This limitation is not just related to the hamstring or lower back.  Any muscle joint in the body could be affected.

There is research that shows that the benefits of dry needling can be similar to that of a cortisone injection but without the negative effects of the cortisone. By slightly irritating the area, we are creating a natural healing effect to help the body heal naturally and without any side effects.

So if you are having any chronic, nagging, and lingering issues that are preventing you from living your active lifestyle, dry needling is a safe, healthy way for you to return to activities without the need for pain medications or surgeries. If any of this sounds like you, give us a call today and talk to one of our experts to find out if Dry Needling is right for you.