Should I try dry needling?

Here at Smart Moves Physiotherapy we use a variety of manual therapy techniques to achieve the best results for our clients. We often incorporate dry needling as part of our treatment plan because it has a wide variety of benefits.

What is dry needling?
It involves inserting very thin needles into specific trigger points in the muscles to elicit a response.

What are the benefits?

-         Elicits a local inflammatory response: releases endorphins, increases blood flow to the area and clears waste products.

-         May produce a muscle twitch: impacts calcium channels in muscle fibres resulting in relaxation of the muscle

-         Pain reliever: releases enkephalin which provides analgesia

-         Whole body analgesia: a number of chemicals are released including serotonin, adrenaline, opioids – help reduce pain felt in the whole body not just localized to the area where the needling is

-         Sympathetic effects: needling can stimulate the autonomic system by reducing sympathetic effects such as “fight or flight” activity and increase parasympathetic effects such as rest, digestion, relaxation.

-         Immune effects: endogenous opioid release can support regulation of the immunoinflammatory.

What conditions is dry needling helpful for:

-         Back pain

-         Neck pain or tension

-         Headaches

-         Rotator cuff injuries

-         Hip pain

-         Calf injuries

-         Hamstring strains

If you want to know more about dry needling, discuss it with one of our physios today.