Dry Needling

 Dry Needling

Although many equate dry needling to acupuncture at first glance, a closer understanding of both would show the sharp differences. Obviously, both are needle-based treatments, but while acupuncture has existed as an alternate form of treatment for thousands of years, dry needling has emerged only in the past couple of years.

However, just because it is relatively new doesn’t mean its effectiveness is any less. In fact, its effectiveness is getting recognized by the medical wing, and it is getting popular across the globe for treating myofascial pain.  Dry needling helps reduce pain and treat muscle tissues.

What is Myofascial Pain?

As you age, your muscles and associated soft tissues often weaken, leading to myofascial pain syndrome. When you contract this disease, pain radiates from one or several different triggered points.

You would feel tenderness as well as pain in your muscles. When touched, these trigger points feel like knots, nodules, or small bumps in your muscles. 

The concerned muscle fiber and its associated tissues get stuck up in a contracted state. As such, blood circulation doesn’t reach there and it doesn’t get the necessary oxygen. In addition, there is also an accumulation of waste materials. All these irritate the trigger point, giving our brain pain signals.

Dry needling focuses on these trigger points to relieve you from the tenderness and pain in the concerned area.

Possible Causes

The major causes of myofascial pain are as follows:

• Poor posture
• Pinched nerve
• Muscle injury
• Living or working for long hours in a cold environment
• Lack of muscle activity
• Emotional stress
• Chronic infections
• Vitamin deficiencies
• Metabolic and/or hormonal problems

Risk Factors

Some of the rare but probable risk factors and side effects associated with dry needling are:

• Bruising
• Pain
• Drowsiness
• Sweating
• Nausea

Signs and Symptoms

When it comes to myofascial pain syndrome, different people experience different types of symptoms. While for some, all of the pain may flare up at once, for others, the pain may linger through a slow burn. Nonetheless, here are the most common symptoms that should tell you that you need dry needling.

• Sore or tender muscles
• Reduced range of motion in the affected area
• General weakness of the muscles
• Throbbing muscle pain
• Nodules, knot, or bump in muscles
• Fatigue
• Anxiety
• Poor sleep
• Headaches

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of myofascial pain is made by muscle palpation. The proper evaluation includes tests for muscles that may be the cause of pain.   

Treatment Options at 7DMC

The dry needling procedure is based on the precise skill of inserting needles into the affected area to stimulate a healing response. Since this is an extremely delicate method, it should be performed at a certified medical institution like 7DMC.

Depending on the severity of your condition, the needles are inserted deeply or superficially by a medical professional. The duration of how long these needles are inserted can vary anywhere from a few seconds to 10-15 minutes.

It is usually part of a wholesome plan that may include heat therapy, manual therapy, or some form of exercise. Apart from the conditions mentioned above, dry needling also aids in treating pelvic pain, night cramps, whiplash, migraine, joint problems, tendinitis, disk problems, phantom pain, spinal problems, and post-herpetic neuralgia, among others.

So, get an appointment with 7DMC, consult with our world-class medical practitioners regarding the issues you are facing, treat yourself with the renowned up-and-coming method of dry needling, and see the healing for yourself.