The Benefits of Dry Needling
Dry needling is a powerful technique for releasing trigger points and chronic muscle tension. Here's how it works, what to expect, and the proven benefits backed by research.
Dry needling is a powerful therapeutic technique designed to reduce muscular pain and tension. Sometimes called "intramuscular stimulation" or "myofascial trigger point dry needling," it uses fine, short stainless-steel needles inserted at trigger points in the muscle to release knots and chronic tightness. First practiced in Czechoslovakia in 1979, dry needling has now spread around the world — helping thousands of athletes and chronic pain sufferers live a life with less discomfort.
How Dry Needling Differs From Acupuncture
It might sound like acupuncture, but the only real similarities are in the tools and some of the benefits. Dry needling aims to reduce muscular pain and tension by needle insertion at tense points, while acupuncture is a practice dating back millennia in Chinese medicine — involving balancing the body's yin and yang by using needles to stimulate the flow of qi ("chi").
Dry needling is termed so because the needles do not inject any fluid into your body. Instead they target trigger points to create a reaction known as a "local twitch" — a brief reflex response in the muscle. The best part is that most people don't even feel the needle going in.
The Methodology
Long-term pain — either from a nervous disorder or injury (recent or old) — is often caused by nerve and muscle clusters we call "trigger points." When dry needling targets these trigger points, the local twitch starts a biochemical and mechanical reaction with several therapeutic effects working in parallel.
The Benefits
Relief of muscular pain
A needled trigger point will release tension, ease inflammation, balance your muscular biochemistry and relieve pressure in and around the trigger point. With all of these benefits happening simultaneously, the needling has effectively kick-started your body's natural healing mechanisms — without any synthetic medicines or unpredictable side effects.
Your body would have started trying to heal from when you first had an injury, or, if not caused by trauma, instead caused perhaps by sitting posture or heavy lifting. Dry needling aids the body by turning the healing engine up to turbo, and you'll feel the effects very quickly after a few treatments.
Rapid recovery from sports and athletic injuries
Sprains, ligament damage, and RSI (cricket batters and bowlers, take note) can all prevent us from doing the things we want to do, and force us to compromise on our chosen lifestyle. Dry needling can speed up recovery rapidly with regular sessions by taking advantage of the body's own healing mechanisms.
Natural pain relief from opiate peptides
Dry needling, upon reaching a trigger point, will activate a hormonal and neurochemical response — releasing beta-endorphins, enkephalins and dynorphins. What do they do? They're natural painkillers, preventing pain signals from reaching the brain. Again, without any need to open the medicine cabinet.
Improved blood flow
A study conducted in 2012 showed that dry needling produces a significant increase in blood flow and oxygen saturation at the point at which the needle was inserted. This result was sustained for at least 15 minutes. Increased blood flow and oxygen saturation are both essential for accelerated healing.
Enabling higher movement
After dry needling you'll begin to notice that it's much easier to move around — not just walking or running, but also reaching, bending, jumping and crawling. This is down to hugely improved blood flow throughout your musculoskeletal system, allowing you to move more, and more often.
Treatment Plans, Not Single Sessions
Dry needling is best carried out as part of a treatment plan rather than as a solution by itself. It's also important to make sure that your practitioner has detailed anatomy knowledge — such as that of a qualified accredited physiotherapist.
There are many more benefits we couldn't cover in this article. To learn more or book an appointment, get in touch — and don't forget to share this with your team-mates who might want to give it a try too.
References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23206963
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5599809/
https://www.aacp.org.uk/page/14/what-is-acupuncture