Dry Needling
The thought of having foreign metal objects inserted into your skin is not a pleasant one for most
people. However, if you are brave enough to step outside of your comfort zone then dry needling can be
very helpful in managing your aches and pains.
Before discussing the benefits of dry needling, we need to discern between two very similar but
different modalities: Acupuncture and dry needling.
Acupuncture has been practiced for thousands of years in Eastern Medicine. Needles were originally
made of stone, bamboo and even bone! Now they are made of stainless steel, and are so fine that
you often won’t even feel the prick.
The placement of the needle is targeted along meridians of Qi (pronounced ‘chi’, this energy flows
through our bodies). In the practice of acupuncture multiple needles are often left in for more than
15 minutes at a time.
A whole range of sensations have been reported when receiving acupuncture, varying from a dull
ache, warmth or a releasing feeling to euphoria. Everyone can have a different experience, however
the most common sensation seems to be the dull ache.
Dry needling utilises the same equipment with a more western approach. It is called “dry” and not
wet because no fluid is passed to or from the body. There is no injection (like a vaccination) or
withdrawal (a blood test).
The needles are used to break down trigger points in the body in order to achieve a muscular
release. This technique often requires less time as once the trigger point is released the needles are
removed. When the trigger point is deactivated you often feel an odd ‘twitch’ sensation. Essentially,
the twitch means bullseye!
What is a trigger point?
You know that spot in your shoulder, or maybe in your neck or lower back, where the muscle feels
all knotted up? That irritable little ball of tension is a trigger point. If compressed they can even
radiate pain to areas adjacent from the pressure. These points have common patterns of referral.
So in summary, acupuncture works off body maps that have been carefully calculated over
thousands of years, whereas dry needling is guided by the individual patient’s anatomy, and the
examination performed by the practitioner.
Importantly, the needles used in either practice should be single use and disposed of in a sharps
container. Combining this with the cleaning of skin with alcoholic swabs before treatment will
reduce the risks of infection greatly.
Dry needling and/or acupuncture is seemingly becoming more popular in manual therapy. It is an
effective (speaking only from personal experience) way of stimulating tissues that seem like they
need that little bit of extra grunt.
It can help with treatment of most musculoskeletal injuries. Muscular strains and joint sprains,
pregnancy pain and headaches can all be eased by achieving these releases with needling. It can be
especially helpful with more resistant and nasty inflammatory conditions like tennis elbow, plantar
fasciitis, bursitis and Achilles tendonitis to name a few.
This is because one of the benefits of dry needling is thought to come from increasing blood flow.
The needles can stimulate an increase of blood to the area which is needled. This increase in blood
flow means more nutrients necessary for healing will be delivered to the injury site. It will also mean
that the leftover waste from tissue healing is carried away from the damaged area.
Injuries which involve damage to tendons, such as listed before, can take a long time to heal because
tendons do not get a great deal of blood flow when compared to structures such as muscles. This
may explain why that niggly tennis elbow has been hanging around for so long! It is also why
needling may be necessary to stimulate some extra blood supply.
The amount of sessions required to address your complaint will depend on a variety of factors. Age,
daily activities, how long you’ve had the issue and the injury itself should all play a part in developing
an individualised treatment plan. Some pains may be caused by a single point which needs to be
released in just one session. More commonly it may be more complicated and require multiple
sessions.
If you are considering having any needlework done for your injuries, ensure that you do drink plenty
of water before and after the treatment. It will help with the efficiency of the treatment as well as
the recovery. A side effect of the treatment can be some muscle soreness, potentially up to 24-48
hours is the normal range and is more common after your first time. Heat packs can also ease some
of this soreness.
If you’re having trouble with injuries that just won’t go away, maybe you should consider something
new. If you open your mind to dry needling it may be just what your body needs to get it back on
track.
