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What is Dry Needling?

Updated: Jul 21

Dry Needling?  Most of you have heard about it, some of you may have tried it, or maybe this is something new to you. 


Dry Needling, also known as ‘myofascial dry needling’, has been around since the 1940s and is an effective tool to treat musculoskeletal pain, reduce muscular tension, improve movement and stimulate the body's natural ability to heal itself. "Myofascial?" you ask. ‘Myo’ means 'muscle' and ‘fascia’ is the connective tissue.


Studies have shown Dry Needling to be effective in treating acute and chronic conditions.  The types of issues that can benefit are many – here’s a snapshot - neck pain, headaches, lower back pain, sciatic pain, knee pain, spasticity after stroke, tendonitis (e.g. tennis and golfer's elbow), shoulder pain, plantar fasciitis, fibromyalgia, hip pain and muscle weakness.  Dry Needling is commonly used to improve functional performance and recovery in sports and other physical activities such as manual labour, gardening, cleaning and yard work.


What can you expect if your treatment involves Dry Needling?   The practitioner uses a sterile, fine stainless-steel needle (the same kind that acupuncturists use).  When you have your first appointment, we will discuss your case history and make an assessment.  If Dry Needling is recommended, this is likely to be used alongside other osteopathic techniques.  Let’s take an example – if you came to see me for lower back pain or sciatic pain, 2 to 4 needles may be used on your lower back and leave them in for 5 to 15 minutes.  The treatment area, the time the needles are left in and the number of needles used will depend on the issue presented and what you are comfortable with at the time.  Another example is tension headaches; these can be ‘referred’ pain from your shoulder muscles.  So, the needles are likely to be placed in your shoulder muscles if you have tension headaches.


When a needle is put into the muscle, you may experience an involuntary 'twitch’ or ‘jump response', which may be accompanied by a subtle ache or a referring sensation. This sensation can vary a lot - it can be a split moment or a slow ease.  Then you may feel a noticeable, sometimes instant improvement in muscle tension and less discomfort.  Or you may feel nothing at all except a change and a benefit!  To finalise your treatment, kinesiology tape may be applied to help support the area of concern.


Dry Needling works by treating ‘myofascial trigger points’ without the discomfort that may occur to surrounding muscles when manual pressure or massage, using thumbs or elbows for example, is applied. These ‘myofascial trigger points’ may be caused by injury or ongoing muscle stress and can sometimes feel like a tight band or lump within the muscle.  Sometimes they are referred to as knots or adhesions.


During your appointment, we will talk about your treatment goals.  Everyone has different priorities and these are some we hear regularly - I want to be pain-free again, to be able to walk up and down stairs, to pick up my children or grandchildren, to go to work without pain, to get back into exercise or even to run a marathon. 


As with most manual therapies, there is the possibility of feeling a little soreness for a couple of days after your treatment.  The benefits of Dry Needling generally outweigh this soreness!  If there are any potential risks, they will be discussed prior to your treatment, or an alternative treatment method will be recommended. The aim is to leave you with much less discomfort and pain.



If you have any questions about Dry Needling, please call 0401 155 550. 


To make an appointment, you can either call the number above or Book Online by clicking on the 'Book Online' button.



Dry Needling Effective Pain Treatment



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