Dry needling is a relatively new treatment approach that employs a concept similar to that of acupuncture. While both dry needling and acupuncture use similar tools (filiform needles), they have different goals and guidelines (dry needling adheres to medical science-based guidelines). Acupuncture aims to restore the normal flow of energy in the body, whereas dry needling is geared toward addressing pain, soreness, and tightness by targeting muscle knots.
Chiropractors and licensed physical therapists use dry needling as part of a broader treatment program. Dry needling can be used to treat a variety of musculoskeletal issues, such as the following:
Musculoskeletal Pain
Dry needling has been proven to help with musculoskeletal pain, such as neck and back pain, hip pain, heel pain, pain from tendonitis, and joint pain.
Dry needling jumpstarts healing in the body. The needle creates tiny lesions in the tissue and promotes blood flow to the site, thereby relieving the discomforts. Dry needling is used to speed up the healing of injuries in athletes. It has little or no side effects and is an excellent adjunctive therapy to other physical therapy modalities.
Myofascial Pain
Trigger points commonly referred to as muscle knots are taut bands of muscles that are painful to touch. Trigger points usually form in the neck, back, and arms. Trigger points cause pain that can travel to other parts of the body—a condition known as referred pain.
Dry needling can help release muscle knots, and cause the surrounding muscles to loosen up as well. The needles inserted into the knots can cause microtrauma, which triggers a healing response. The body sends white blood cells to the site to begin the healing process. The “twitching response” at the treatment site is a sign that the therapy is working.
Tension Headaches and Migraines
Dry needling geared toward treating tension headaches involves the insertion of the needles deep into the knotted parts of the muscles at the neck and base of the skull. This effectively loosens the taut muscles and consequently provides pain relief.
Dry needling can also reduce the severity of migraines by releasing the tension that had built up in the neck muscles.
Postoperative Pain
Dry needling may be part of a comprehensive, postoperative physical therapy program. There may be lingering pain and stiffness following surgery, which dry needling can alleviate.
Patients experiencing pain after a total knee replacement can benefit from the muscle-relaxing effects of dry needling, and even more so, if dry needling is performed before surgery.
Dry Needling in Dallas, Texas
At Reagan Integrated Sports Medicine, we offer an extensive range of revolutionary treatment options—such as dry needling, shockwave therapy, stem cell therapy, etc.—to help athletes stay on top of their game and achieve their full potential. Our licensed chiropractors administer dry needling in conjunction with physical therapy modalities to produce exceptional outcomes.
If you need more information about dry needling and our other services or would like to set up an appointment with one of our providers, call Reagan Integrated Sports Medicine at (972) 503-7272 or use our online request form.
