The ancient Chinese Medicine form of acupuncture has been adapted in the west and is used by physiotherapists as a way to release off muscles through needles rather than massage or mobilisation.
Also referred to as dry needling, this is a good alternative for some very sensitive injuries like muscle spasm or highly painful conditions as the needle will release the muscle without requiring the deeper touch or firm pressure of treatments such as massage
It may be usedto treat complaints such as RSI to back pain, headaches & neck complaints etc.
It can also be used effectively in sporting injuries such as achilles tendinosis, patellar tendinosis, hamstring tightness or glut tightness.
Dry Needle Therapy Backed Up by Research
Terms often used to describe dry needling, include trigger point dry needling and intramuscular manual therapy and can be a great tool used in conjunction with the physiotherapist’s pre-existing knowledge of composition and neurophysiological control of the body.
Needle insertion could be done at areas of myofascial stress (commonly referred to by people as ‘knots’), bone periostium (where cells fixate to bone and are the source of pain i.e. shin splints) or other soft tissues. Put another way instead of digging our fingers into the aching parts, we can insert a needle to do the exact same job.
As the needles are put into the locations of tension, the focal intrusion triggers the cells to respond. This response is immediately adhered to by a degree of tissue relaxation and hopefully a decrease in pain.
