What is dry needling?

Dry Needling is a therapeutic technique used by qualified healthcare professionals to treat muscular pain and dysfunction. It involves the insertion of very thin, sterile needles into specific areas of muscle tissue, known as trigger points.

What is a trigger point?

Trigger points are hyper-irritable spots withing a taut band of muscle that can cause local and referred pain (think headaches). They can also restrict movement and reduce range of motion, therefore causing dysfunction in the mechanics of a muscle.
Trigger points are often referred to as adhesions and knots.

What is a the goal of dry needling?

The goal of dry needling is to reduce pain, improve range of motion, and promote healing by stimulating the muscle tissue and eliciting a local twitch response. This response can help relax the tight muscle and improve blood flow to the area.
Even if you do not achieve a twitch response the needle insertion will still change the chemical environment of the muscle and achieve the desired effect in most cases.

Is it the same as Acupucnture?

No it is not.
Unlike acupuncture, which is based on traditional Chinese medicine and focuses on the flow of energy (or qi), dry needling is grounded in western anatomy and physiology. They are two quite different modalities.

What can be treated with Dry Needling?

Dry needling is often used to treat conditions such as myofascial pain syndrome, tension headaches, neck and back pain, and sports injuries.
A few common conditions we see in clinic which respond really well to dry needling are, headaches, rotator cuff injuries, tennis/golfers elbow, calf tightness etc.