DRY NEEDLING
Take back control with TrueFix Physical Therapy. High quality, consistent, and individualized care is the foundation of our company, and what we pride ourselves on the most.
What is Dry Needling
Dry needling is defined as a skilled intervention that uses a thin filiform needle to penetrate the skin and stimulate underlying myofascial trigger points, muscular, and connective tissues for the management of neuromusculoskeletal pain and movement impairments. Trigger points are taut bands of muscle tissue that are irritable to stimuli of compression, stretch, or contraction of the tissue. People will sometimes refer to them as “knots”. There are several theories as to how these trigger points develop, and the most popular theories involve overuse of a particular muscle band that results in the painful taut band.
Trigger points often refer pain to other parts of the body. All of the muscles in the human body have common pain referral patterns. For example, a painful sensation in the hand could really be referred from muscle dysfunction in the shoulder. A common site that people will experience this type of referred pain is in the head. It could be mistaken for a headache but actually be referred from the neck. We assess areas above and below the involved area, in order to determine the root cause of the pain and dysfunction.
Dry needling is not to be confused with acupuncture. Although the type of needle is the same, they are different treatment methods. Dry needling is performed with the intent of releasing trigger points in muscles or surrounding tissues. Acupuncture is rooted in traditional Chinese medicine, as an alternative treatment for medical conditions, with the philosophy of releasing chi (energy flow) in particular manners. Both can be used for treatment of pain, but the approach is vastly different.
Sometimes electric stimulation (e-stim) is coupled with the dry needling. This is referred to as intra-muscular electric nerve stimulation. You may be familiar with TENS, which is transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation – utilizing sticky pads that are placed on the skin over the painful area. The same electric currents are used, but they are delivered directly into the muscle tissue via the inserted needle(s), so the stimulation can be more isolated to the muscle we wish to target.
Dry needling can help to reduce pain and improve mobility, so that you can express your joints through greater ranges of motion. It’s often a powerful component of the comprehensive plan of care that is created specifically for you.
The Problem
When the human body sustains an injury or is misused, muscles and the nervous system can undergo changes.
These changes = pain and dysfunction for you.
They often present as knots in your muscles and/or a disconnect between your brain and the muscle itself, which often leads to weakness/dysfunction.
A Solution: Dry Needling
Through extensive evaluation, we are able to identify muscles that demonstrate signs and symptoms of these changes.
Once we identify the particular muscle, we take an extremely thin needle and insert it directly into the identified tissue.
The Result
Increased blood flow
Decreased banding (tightness)
Decreased spontaneous electrical activity
Biochemical changes
Central nervous system changes
Why our patients love us
SEE HOW WE’VE HELPED OUR KANSAS CITY COMMUNITY!
We offer physical therapy, dry needling, and body health plans that have helped improve the lives of many people you may know personally in the Kansas City area! Read success stories and learn how TrueFix Physical Therapy can help you get back to the activities you love!
LESS PAIN, SO THAT YOU CAN GET BACK TO BEING YOU
Dry needling is a service that our clients can take advantage of during a full physical therapy session or as a stand alone “a la carte” service. All new patients are required to undergo a full initial evaluation prior to using dry needling as a stand alone service so that we may get to know your history and make sure this is a treatment that is appropriate for you.