Menai District Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Centre, Illawong NSW 2234
Dry needling is a treatment where a sterile, single-use, fine filament needle (acupuncture needle) is inserted into the muscle to assist with decreasing pain and improving function through the release of myofascial trigger points (knots in the muscle). In dry needling the therapist identifies specific “tight spots” or trigger points and uses the acupuncture technique to relieve the associated bands of muscle or connective tissue when other treatment modalities might be significantly more painful. Dry needling works by releasing the tight connective tissue around the injured muscle or by decreasing the amount of nerve activity in the muscle allowing the spasm or tightness to subside.
The main difference between acupuncture and dry needling is that dry needling focuses on the soft tissue that is causing pain or is injured rather than the meridians of Eastern Chinese Medicine.
Current research shows that dry needling can help with acute and chronic low back pain, chronic neck pain, headaches, pelvic pain, knee arthritis, elbow pain and shoulder pain.
The dry needling approach identifies specific changes in muscle and connective tissue found by your practitioner, based on their assessment of your injury. Dry needling can provide excellent relief in cases where massage and joint manipulations are too painful or have been ineffective in providing relief. Your therapist will advise you on the benefits of dry needling and how it could help improve your injury.
If you would like to see how dry needling can help you, enquire here