Dry needling is a specialist technique that can be used by qualified physios to treat trigger point symptoms & related pain.
Trigger Point Dry Needling is an invasive technique used by Physiotherapists where an acupuncture needle is positioned into a targeted muscle, causing intramuscular stimulation. The rationale behind dry needling is the targeting of myofascial trigger points (hyperirritable spots) in a muscle that may be causing pain, reduced mobility, reduced activation and/ or altered sensation. Trigger points may typically present as hypersensitive spots when touched. Trigger point dry needling is performed using sterile single-use needle inserted either superficially or deep into a muscle.
Trigger point dry needling can be used for a range of musculoskeletal conditions where muscle involvement, either as a primary or secondary factor, is contributing to the condition. Dry-needling is commonly performed in conjunction with other Physiotherapy treatments (exercise prescription, massage, joint mobilisations, nerve glides etc.). Dry-needling may assist in re-establishing muscle activation, strength, range of motion and reduction in pain.
Trigger point dry needling can be used to manage and treat muscle soreness effectively. Exercise-induced muscle soreness has been shown to decrease significantly less (P <0.05) following dry-needling compared to no treatment, after a 72-hour period (Lin & Yang, 1999). Similarly, an RCT examining the effects of dry-needling on symptoms and muscle function in delayed-onset muscle soreness produced a reduction in perceived pain resultant from exercise-induced muscle soreness.
Dry-needling also provides effective management of pain when combined with other Physiotherapy treatments. A 2005 Cochrane review (Furlan et al., 2005) of dry-needling, complied of thirty-five RCTs and 2861 patients found positive benefits in reducing pain amongst chronic low back pain individuals.
For more information on the effectiveness of trigger point dry needling for a condition you may be currently experiencing, please contact our team of Physiotherapists at PROHEALTH PHYSIO.
For further information please refer to:
Furlan, A.D., Van Tulder, M.W., Cherkin, D., Tsukayama, H., Lao, L., Koes, B.W. and Berman, B.M., 2005. Acupuncture and dry‐needling for low back pain. The Cochrane Library.
Lin, J.G. and Yang, S.H., 1999. Effects of acupuncture on exercise-induced muscle soreness and serum creatine kinase activity. The American journal of Chinese medicine, 27(03n04), pp.299-305.