Often, tight muscles cause pain and limit movement. The muscles need to move in order to get the oxygen and nutrients they need for normal function, but they cannot do so if they are knotted up or stuck. This is when you need dry needling.
The goal of dry needling is to release the trigger points and allow the muscle to return to a normal, relaxed state. Unlike acupuncture, which is a traditional Chinese treatment, dry needling does not use any drugs or injections. Instead, physical therapists use a needle to access your muscles’ trigger points.
A physical therapist will first discuss your medical history ISO Clinic and perform a physical exam to determine if you are a good candidate for this treatment. Then, they will take you to a private room or a curtained off section of the larger therapy space. They will put on a sterile pair of gloves and then clean the skin where they are planning to insert the needle. They will then insert the needle directly into the muscle. They may move the needle around a bit, trying to get what’s called a local twitch response — a quick spasm of the muscle that helps to release the trigger point.
When they find the right spot, your provider will use a hand or fingers to feel (palpate) the area. They will then place the needle — surrounded by a plastic guide tube — over the area. They will use one hand to hold the needle in place while they work with the other to gently press on or poke the area of interest.
Typically, you will only feel a small amount of discomfort while the needle is in place. The therapist will keep the needle in place for several minutes, and they will then remove it. The procedure usually takes as little as 15 minutes, and it is very safe. Most people find that their pain levels and movement improve after a session of dry needling, and the positive effects are amplified when combined with physical therapy.
Although research is limited, a growing body of evidence supports the effectiveness of dry needling in treating myofascial pain syndromes. Several studies have demonstrated immediate and short-term improvements in pain and mobility after using this technique. In addition, some large-scale randomized controlled trials support the use of needles to treat muscular trigger points proximal and distal to the site of pain.
It is important to note that while some practitioners use a combination of both wet and dry needling, there are no high-quality, long-term trials supporting the insertion of dry needles at exclusively muscular trigger points (MTrPs). However, this does not mean that the practice of using dry needling should be discouraged, as it appears that this method can be just as effective as injecting with lidocaine.