What is dry needling and why do I need it?
Dry needling is great at fixing problems that just won't shift.
Whether you’ve had this form of treatment before or not getting an idea of how it works makes all the difference in understanding your treatment.
What can Dry Needling help?
Dry needling can help with most soft tissue injuries.
Whether is is chronic trigger points or fascial restrictions, muscle tears, tendonitis and also stiffness in joints and soft tissues.
Who can benefit from Dry Needling?
Almost anyone can benefit from dry needling and it is worth asking your Remedial Massage Therapist to give it a try! If you have any of the following it would be worth adding dry needling into your massage session:
Muscle tightness that doesn’t seem to want to shift.
If you have injured yourself in the past 24 – 48 hours
You suffer from Headaches or neck pain it works wonders.
You are trying to improve your flexibility or posture.
You suffer from lower back pain, ‘sciatica,’ elbow/ wrist pain or knee pain.
Have scar tissue from old muscle tears.
You don't like really hard massage but know you have tight muscles.
Does Dry Needling hurt?
Generally dry needling doesn't hurt, often you will just feel pressure deep in the tissue.
When the needle hits the trigger point in a muscle you can feel a twitch or spasm which can be more of a surprise than being painful. Other sensations you can feel include referral pain.
It affects people in different ways. Some people may be sore for a couple of days afterwards and others will feel not pain at all. Some body parts are also more likely to be painful such as the calves.
Stretching afterwards can greatly reduce any pain felt.
What happens when your remedial massage therapist does dry needling?
To sum it up, your remedial massage will use very fine, specially designed needle and insert it into muscle's trigger point. They use several needles in one treatment.
Your Remedial Massage therapist will palpate the area and find the trigger point. They then insert the needle, which should feel like no more than a pin prick, then wait a few minutes or address another area of your body as the needle ‘does it’s thing!’
That is loosens the muscles up with minimal pain! Your massage therapist will then come back and recheck the area to make sure the needle is doing it’s job and finally take is out, which again involves minimal pain.