What is dry needling therapy?

What is dry needling therapy?  Dry needling is a form of treatment used by medical doctors, chiropractors, and physical therapists for addressing pain and muscular trigger points (also known as “muscle knots”), and it requires advanced training to perform safely and effectively. 

Dry needling uses small, monofilament needles and briefly inserts them near peripheral nerves or into muscles, ligaments, tendons, subcutaneous fascia, and scar tissue. 

Dry needling does not use the same needles as the needles used to deliver vaccinations, and in the hands of a skilled practitioner, this form of treatment can be very effective in addressing short- or longstanding issues with muscle dysfunction and pain. 

Dry needling can also help improve range of motion and increase muscle strength.  Read more about the approach we utilize in our Burlington office with dry needling!

Patients who visit our Burlington office for Dry Needling treatments usually complain of the following:

• Acute and chronic pain
• Headaches
• Neck pain
• Back pain
• Shoulder pain
• Tendinitis and tendinopathies
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction
• Disc pathology
• Tennis/Golfer’s elbow
• Hip and gluteal Pain
• Knee pain
• Sciatica
• Plantar fasciitis

What is dry needling?

Dry needling is not the same as acupuncture.  Although both forms of treatment use the same tiny, filament-like needle, acupuncture is a system of points identified in Traditional Chinese Medicine to address various health conditions and balance the body’s energy known as “qi”. 

Dry needling, on the other hand, is a purely musculoskeletal approach that targets muscular knots known as trigger points.

Muscular trigger points are hyperirritable spots in a skeletal muscle’s fascia.  They are often caused by trauma to a muscle but can also be related to normal aging, lack of exercise and movement, vitamin deficiencies, sleep disturbances, and joint problems.

Various forms of trauma that create trigger points include major injuries such as car collisions or sports activities, as well as smaller microtraumas such as prolonged poor posture. 

Trigger points are often painful upon applying pressure and impair the muscle from engaging in its full, pain-free motor unit function. 

Unfortunately, the cause of trigger points is not fully understood.  It is thought that mechanical triggers and chemical stimuli may overexcite nerve endings, resulting in the formation of muscle knots and pain.

Our approach to Dry Needling

Management of a musculoskeletal condition may include dry needling therapy.  Oftentimes, patients will feel improvement right away with just one or two sessions. 

Sometimes multiple sessions may be required to obtain the full therapeutic benefit.  Typically, patients experience marked improvement from receiving dry needling in our Burlington chiropractic office!

Approaches to treatment will depend on the severity, complexity, and duration (length of time) of your musculoskeletal complaint, as well as your overall health. 

Although many patients feel relief in one or just a few sessions, some patients simply don’t respond to the treatment.  If that is the case, you and our chiropractors will know after a few sessions of dry needling, and your treatment plan may change accordingly.

Our approach to treatment is unique to every patient and includes reducing pain, improving function, enhancing and restoring movement, and more.  All of these components are an imperative part of an effective treatment plan.

When should I seek dry needling?

Sometimes a patient’s condition may warrant further treatment beyond spinal manipulative therapy, passive modalities such as heat and electric stimulation, massage therapy, or active approaches like physical therapy, exercise, and rehabilitation.  

Dry needling can be very beneficial by itself or used in tandem with other approaches to treat various muscle and joint conditions.

Because of the versatility of the treatment, dry needling can be used to address recovery from injury just as effectively as headaches, acute and chronic pain, joint and muscle dysfunction, improving performance, and even preventing injury from happening in the first place!

Additionally, dry needling often has few side effects, unlike other invasive treatments such as injections.

What Our Patients Are Saying:

So thankful to be pain-free after working with Dr. Andy! He took the time to really listen to my concerns. Highly recommend! ~ Leslie W. from Burlington, NC

What happens when I get dry needling?

Successful application of dry needling may evoke a response known as a “local twitch response” in the muscle or musculoskeletal part of the body receiving treatment. 

This mild, brief contraction of the muscle and myofascial units is caused by stimulation to the nerve endings into the muscle responsible for muscle control.  This location is known as a muscle’s motor end plates and is the site where nerve impulses are transmitted into muscles.

The local twitch response can be felt by both the practitioner and the patient.  It is described best as a muscle twitch locally experienced when pressure from the needle is quickly and safely inserted into the muscle belly. 

When you insert small needles into the skin, your body can have a substantial response. It releases your body’s own natural opioids (pain killers). The needle also causes a tiny trauma to the skin and muscle, and triggers the body to release a lot of chemicals to heal itself.

Lastly, the needle stimulates nerve fibers that sense touch – which are bigger and faster than nerves that sense pain. These touch sensing nerves “out muscle” the pain, and your discomfort decreases. This is called the Gate Theory of Pain. That’s why we rub our toes whenever we stub them on something.

How does Dry Needling help me?

Dry needling does penetrate the skin to insert one or more needles into the muscles.  However, many patients find the treatment to be painless due to the thinness of the needles and the skill of our chiropractor.  You may not even feel the insertion of the needle!  If a patient does experience discomfort, it is often perceived as a brief ache.

Dry needling is just one form of treatment that we are successful in applying.  We have many methods to implement to obtain the most successful, individually tailored treatment plan for you!  Make an appointment today at our Burlington office and discuss if dry needling is the right approach for your muscle or joint complaint.

Frequently asked questions about Dry Needling

Is Dry Needling and Acupuncture the same thing?

At our Burlington office, Dr. Andy is certified in both techniques. Even though both treatment techniques use the same needles and have considerable overlap in the location of needling insertion, they are different.

Dry Needling focuses exclusive on the treatment of joint and muscle pain. Acupuncture is more holistic, and is derived from ancient Chinese medical practices to manipulate the body’s “Qi”.

Does Dry Needling hurt?

It is common to feel a quick pinprick during needle insertion, but it is not common to feel pain. Dry Needling and Acupuncture needles are roughly the same thickness as a strand of hair and do not typically elicit discomfort.

How long does Dry Needling treatment take?

A typical treatment session will last between 10-15 minutes. This is a good time to relax and take a break from the business of the day. The doctor or staff will typically check up on you halfway through the treatment.

Dry Needling uses thin acupuncture needles to target painful trigger points, muscle bellies, tendons, joints, fascial lines, and acupuncture points. All with the sole purpose of relieving pain and improving joint mechanics.