Last week we talked about MDT therapy and how, in some cases, expensive emergency room visits, surgeries, or addictive medications can be avoided. While I have found MDT treatments to be highly effective for relatively acute injuries, they can also be beneficial for chronic pain. However, not everyone is a mechanical responder, sometimes the condition moves out of a mechanical problem and becomes something else entirely. I would often struggle to treat these patients, traditional therapy techniques and MDT techniques just weren’t cutting it and I felt frustrated that I wasn’t able to help these amazing people who put their trust in me. That was until I studied acupuncture dry needling through the American Academy of Manipulative Therapies.
Dry Needling Therapy
I want to discuss what acupuncture dry needling is and how it can help you.
The South Carolina Practice Act for physical therapy, and I think it gives a very succinct explanation, reads: “Dry needling is a skilled intervention performed by a physical therapist that uses a thin filiform needle to penetrate the skin and stimulate underlying neural, muscular and connective tissues for the evaluation and management of neuromusculoskeletal conditions, pain and movement impairments.” Now if that sounds like a lot of big word hullabaloo to you, don’t worry! We’re going to discuss it more in detail.
But first, let's talk about the difference between traditional Chinese acupuncture and Western medicine’s dry needling. Imagine a pie, and this pie is everything an acupuncturist can evaluate and treat including digestive disorders, stress and anxiety. Western dry needling is a piece of the acupuncture pie, we only use acupuncture dry needling to treat neuro-muscular-skeletal conditions. An acupuncture degree in the US today is a 4-year degree, an MD can become certified in acupuncture with a 3,000-hour course. Physical therapists and chiropractors can become certified in dry needling with continuing education courses after they graduate from an accredited program.
Dry needling uses very very fine needles that we insert through the skin often using predetermined points, or protocols, intending to improve pain and function. How does it work? One thing that we know dry needling therapy does is promote angiogenesis, which is new blood flow. Your body receives nutrients to repair itself through blood flow. DN helps create new blood flow to an affected area which will improve healing. DN also helps release very powerful pain-killing hormones naturally found in your body. These pain-killing hormones help with short-term pain relief.
When your body experiences pain, a natural reaction is for your muscles to guard the area, which will tighten up to help protect the area. This is very beneficial in short-term injuries as it will help to restrict blood flow to the area if there has been a laceration and protect joints from overextending themselves. The problem is when your muscles won’t get out of the guarding phase and they are unnecessarily tight causing mechanical stress on your body. DN has been shown to reset the muscles to their normal resting length, restoring proper mechanics, which will work in the short and long term to decrease pain and improve function.
Normally, for treatment of a single area, I will place anywhere from 4-16 needles and hook them up to a TENS-like unit for 15 minutes. This TENS-like electrical stimulation, paired with the needle insertion, has a powerful effect on the nervous system which is the pain-sensing system in your body. The needle and TENS will overpower your pain signals and provide a strong short-term pain-relief effect.
What is Dry Needling Therapy used for?
I have used dry needling to effectively treat neck pain, back pain, shoulder pain, elbow pain, wrist pain, arthritis pain, hand pain, carpal tunnel, hip pain, knee pain, ankle pain, plantar fasciitis, headache and migraine pain.
What to expect from a Dry Needling treatment
Upon evaluation of your chief complaint, I will generally prescribe a treatment plan for DN in conjunction with corrective exercises. I typically insert anywhere between 4-16 needles and apply TENS-like electrical stimulation for 10-30 minutes (typically 15 minutes). There is a risk of slight bruising and bleeding, and some people may pass out for a few seconds, but overall this is a very safe and effective intervention. It has been documented in some research articles that taking an over-the-counter pain relief medication has a higher risk for adverse reactions than a DN treatment. You can expect to experience muscle soreness for 1-2 days after your treatment, almost like you got a really good workout in. That soreness will disappear after a few days and most people experience immediate improvements. There have been some cases where one treatment was all my patient needed and then they were completely pain-free. On average, though, it is usually around 8 treatments that most people report 90% improvements in pain and function.
I will typically treat a patient 1-2 times a week with DN and guide them through corrective exercises. Again, on average, it takes around 8 treatments for most people to feel 90% improvements and with a 10-visit package this leaves some wiggle room also you can keep your appointments banked for if you ever need a tune-up. I would highly recommend this treatment approach for anyone who is experiencing muscle/joint pain or headaches and migraines. If you feel like you've tried everything for your pain, this just might be what you've been looking for!
I’ve been so excited to see this powerful intervention change so many people’s lives and improve their well-being. I’m excited to help you out too! Book an appointment today or if you’re unsure if your condition can be improved with dry needling, schedule a free 1-minute call and we’ll chat about it, if I can’t help you, I’ll get you pointed in the right direction.
Wishing you well until next time!
Clark Beck, DPT, MDT, Cert DN
Kommentare