What is Dry Needling?
Dry needling focuses on knotted areas of muscles called trigger points. These trigger points develop in areas of overuse and can be painful to the touch. Trigger points can also be a source of referred pain from somewhere else in the spine.
Why Dry Needling?
Dr. Kyle likes to use this therapy with his patients regularly as it can aid in getting the patient back to doing what they love like weightlifting, playing sports, and playing with your kids. Here is some information regarding dry needling, how it can help you, and why it is one of Dr. Kyle’s go-to’s.
#1 It can help to quickly reduce painful tissue
Dry needling can be extremely effective in reducing or turning off pain. It does this in two ways. One, dry needling brings healthy blood flow and oxygen to the affected area to help speed up the healing process. Two, it signals the brain to send neurochemicals to turn off those pain signals coming from the painful area.
#2 It can reduce muscle tightness or trigger points
Similar to the response to pain, the body will send an influx of healthy blood and oxygen to the area of muscle tightness to help it release. Trigger points are common in injuries and those trigger points can become painful. You know of trigger points as knots in the muscle. The influx of blood and oxygen will help to release that knot and decrease pain.
#3 It can assist in strengthening weak/inactive muscles
Electrical stimulation (estim) is a commonly used treatment for painful areas. With weak muscles we can apply estim to the needles to provide an electrical current to fatigue those muscles then follow up with a corrective exercise to help with strengthening that muscle.
As you can see, dry needling can be extremely beneficial for pain and muscle tightness. Give us a call or shoot us an email if you like to know if dry needling is right for you!
