What is Dry Needling?
Dry because no medicines are being delivered through this process. Instead, filiform needles are tapped through the skin to the target tissue to bring about a therapeutic effect, most commonly used to provide instant pain relief.
Dry needling aims to achieve specific neurophysiological effects. It is very similar to acupuncture since similar kinds of needles are being pierced through the skin.
But the major difference is the reason for using the needles. Acupuncturists believe that the needles will balance the positive and negative energy that is Yin and Young.
Therefore, dry needling has no similarities with acupuncture other than the tool.
Specific Techniques
Deep Dry Needling wherein the needle is pierced deep into the muscle or target tissue.
The local twitch response is elicited.
Superficial Dry Needling where the skin overlying the target tissue is pierced
Periosteal Pecking
Needle Manipulation
Intramuscular Electric Stimulation
Goals
- To activate or release the trigger point and relieve pain
- Trigger point release
- Musculo skeleton pains like osteoarthritis, low back pain, control of muscle spasm
Referred pains - Pathologies of myofascial origins example tennis elbow, plantar fasciitis, and shin splint where the process appears to accelerate the healing process
- Pain control
- Reduces muscle tension
- Normalizes biochemical and electrical dysfunction of motor end plates
- Facilitates an accelerated return to active rehabilitation
- Common impairments like acute or chronic tendonitis majorly overuse injuries
- Scarring and post-surgical pain
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Sciatica
- Temporo mandibular joint dysfunction
- Myofascial pain
- Headaches and whiplash
- LBP
- Motor recruitment
- Neuromuscular firing problems
- Decrease spasms and increase muscle extensibility
Risks
- Pneumothorax
- No damage
- Damage to other delicate structures like the kidney
- Needle stick injury
With proper judgment and precision, dry needling is a very powerful tool for a physiotherapist.
It is a quick, cost-effective treatment that when indicated produces immediate results. There are risks in real, therefore specialized trained and safety precautions maintained by physiotherapists should only be used and should only be preferred to those available in DNPR, we provide quality therapists who are well-trained and experienced in DRY NEEDLING.