Dry Needling

Functional Dry Needling, sometimes called Trigger Point Dry Needling, is a manual therapy technique that uses a thin needle to penetrate the skin and stimulate trigger points in muscular and connective tissue. Recent research shows that dry needling can cause rapid reductions in pain and improvements in range of motion. The researchers studied 17 patients. All patients’ neck pain began within 7 days of the start of the study. Half of the patients received trigger point dry needling treatment, and the other half received no treatment. The patients who received the dry needling had better results. Immediately after the treatment, their pain decreased by 33%. One week after the treatment, their pain was 66% less. Also, those patients treated with dry needling were better able to bend their heads forward and backward and to turn their heads toward the painful side of their necks. In the previous study, dry needling was used alone without other physical therapy interventions. Another study examined the use of dry needling in conjunction with exercise and other physical therapy interventions for proximal hamstring tendinopathy. This study found that dry needling gives similar improvements. Over 20 of Team Rehabilitation Physical Therapists have been trained and certified in dry needling. If you have problems with pain and mobility that may be traced to trigger points, talk to your doctor and see if he/she feels that dry needling is the right treatment for you.