What is dry needling?

Dry Needling increases in popularity among physical therapists.

Dry needling has gained a lot of popularity in physical therapy over the past 10 to 15 years with many clinicians obtaining their post-graduate certification due to its growing evidence and effectiveness in treating musculoskeletal pain. The most common questions clients will ask are “What is dry needling and what does it do?”, “What is a trigger point?” and “Is it acupuncture?”.

“What is dry needling and what does it do?”

Dry needling utilizes a solid, fine needle that is inserted into the skin at a trigger point in the muscle to help muscle spasms, improve muscle activation and function as well as decrease pain. There is also research that shows that it creates microdamage that will bring blood flow to the area to help the muscle heal. Dry needling can be used for an array of generalized conditions and dysfunctions including chronic low back pain, patellar or achilles tendinopathy/tendinitis, neck pain, rotator cuff tendinitis, iliotibial band syndrome, muscle strains, hip pain, tennis elbow, and headaches.

“What is a trigger point?”

A trigger point is a hyperirritable spot or palpable nodule (knot) in the muscle that is typically painful to press. Trigger points will typically form when a muscle is tight, is overused, or is due to an injury.

“Is it acupuncture?”

Dry needling concepts were pulled from Western medicine and are all backed by research. It is specifically used to treat musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction whereas acupuncture is used to affect energies and meridians. The only similarity is the use of the same needle though the philosophies behind the needle are different.

Take a look at this research article to get more information:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9159711/