Dry needling is a new modality for treating patients with Soft Tissue Pain and Sports Injuries. It considers local trigger points like all other Dry Needling techniques but it also includes looking at the Distant Trigger Points and the rest of the body systemically. The reason for this is that when you injure yourself your body takes up a protective Neurogenic response which ripples through the rest of your body. This in turn effects other parts of your body which will have negative effect on your healing powers.
The reason for this is extra neurogenic stress response throughout the body. You may be finding that after injuring your right ankle you are developing lower back pains or even reduced movement of the left shoulder or neck. Maybe even experiencing headaches or depression.
This is all due to the response of your nervous system to protect you from greater injury, but because of this your body may never fully leave go of the protective response and you will constantly struggle to get back to full fitness /flexibility and correct balanced movement.
At the clinic you will be fully assessed and informed of any discoveries. This can often lead to a total different outlook on your injury as it affects your body as a whole. You will be given lots of advise on how to fully overcome the trauma that has occurred in one part of your body and the affect it has on the rest of your being.
Biomedical Dry Needling and Primal Reflex Release Therapy is a very potent mixture for releasing these Chronic or Acute causes of pain in different parts of the body that always seem to crop up.It can have a very powerful effect on releasing locked in emotions.
All those injuries that for some strange reason always happen on one side of your body..!Lots of the time it can’t be explained but really all that is involved is what your body keeps trying to tell you…It keeps pointing you in the right direction you have just got to know what it’s telling you. Things do happen for reasons.
Time to nip all these niggling injuries in the bud. Contact the clinic today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Dry needling can be used for a variety of musculoskeletal problems. Conditions which respond to dry needling include, but are not limited to:
- Headaches/Migraines
- Frozen Shoulder
- Tennis elbow
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Golfer’s elbow
- Buttock pain
- Leg pain / Knee Pain / Ankle pain / Hamstring strains / Shin splints
- Groin pain
- Muscle Spasms
- Sinus problems
The pioneering studies by Dr Shah and colleagues at the National Institutes of Health (USA) suggest that inserting a needle into trigger points can cause positive biochemical changes which reduce pain. It is a Local Twitch Response. A spinal cord reflex and is the first step in stopping the pain cycle. Something causes pain, if it happens often enough (Repetitively) or if the trauma is great enough, the pain signal may return through the Sympathietic Ganglion and activate Primary Afferent Nocioceptors which will feedback to the spinal cord. This will cause pain to continue instead of fade and is called a Reflex Arc. At the same time motor neurons may become stuck in a feedback loop/reflex arc, facilitating muscle spasm (To protect you from greater injury).
In some cases the reflex arc continues for years, even decades.If not correctly released further problems will be i the near or distant future. Introducing a new stimulus (i.e. the needle) stops the reflex arc and has the effect of relaxing the muscle and the nervous tissue which supplies it.
How Does Needling Stop this Cycle?
A spasmed muscle becomes a damaged muscle. Spasm reduces blood flow in the muscle. This means less oxygen and nutrients to the muscle. Muscle fibres suffer from Necrosis (DYING) and get replaced by fibrous scar tissue. This in turn holds the muscle in a hypertonic state.It prevents muscles from allowing nutrients in and waste products from leaving the muscle and causes continued spasm and pain. Putting a needle into a spasmed muscle causes the muscle to relax.
Usually it is not felt, the local twitch response may provoke a very brief pain response. It has been described as an electric shock or a cramping sensation. During treatment, patients commonly experience a feeling of relaxation. The benefits of Needling frequently include more than just relief from your certain condition. Many people find that it can also lead to increased energy levels, better appetite and sleep as well as an enhanced sense of overall homeostasis.
Rest is generally advised and light exercises may be prescribed.
Yes, only sterile disposable needles are used.
Some patients report soreness in the treated area and referral zone lasting from a few hours to two days.
It can take a split second to work but sometimes it takes several visits for a positive sustained reaction to take place. We are trying to make mechanical and biochemical changes without any medication. If your fitness levels and nutrition are at a high level you will generally respond faster to treatment.
More frequently, dry Needling is needed at the beginning to help break the pain cycle. When this is achieved other treatment modalities are introduced.
The musculoskeletal system is under constant pressure from gravity, stress, work etc. A regular exercise programme combined with good posture and nutrition will prevent many problems. If the pain returns, “tune-ups” are recommended to treat and prevent injuries
