What is dry needling?
At Osteobath we offer specialist medical acupuncture also known as trigger point dry needling. Dry needling is a Western medical therapy and different to traditional Chinese acupuncture. Acupuncture needles are used to relieve muscular pain caused by myofasical trigger points, commonly referred to as muscle “knots”.
What are trigger points?
“Knots” or trigger points are taut bands of contracted muscle fibres (like a mini cramp of a tiny patch of muscle) causing local discomfort and can also refer pain to other areas of the body. Trigger points are often a major component of peristant and long standing conditions such as chronic back pain and tension headaches.
A classic example of a myofascial trigger point is in the upper trapezius muscle which lies between the neck and shoulders. As well as local discomfort it can refer pain into neck and head. Commonly we suffer with upper trapezius trigger points due to these muscles being reactive to emotional stress, have you ever felt your shoulders are up towards your ears?! Upper trapezius trigger points can also develop due to poor posture, perhaps you sit hunched over a desk all day. Sometimes they occur from trauma, such as lifting a heavy weight or they may gradually develop over time.
So how does dry needling work?
By inserting an acupuncture needle into a trigger point it causes an increase of blood flow and oxygen to the muscle. This influx of blood flow reduces the spontaneous electrical activity within the myofascial trigger point allowing the muscle to relax, promoting healing. Another reaction of dry needling is by the brain. The release of endgoenous opioids, our body’s own pain-relieving system, decreases overall pain levels. The acupucture needles are very thin, solid stainless steel, no susbtances are being injected via the needles.
Acupuncture has been shown to effectively help a varierty of conditions such as:
Chronic lower back pain
Neck pain
Knee pain caused by osteoathritis
Tension headaches & migraine
At Osteobath we can offer dry needling in combination with osteopathy. During your session if the osteopaths feels it would be beneficial to your condition they will discuss this with you and proceed with your consent. Trigger point dry needling is also available without osteopathy.
What happens during a dry needling session?
The osteopath will first discuss with you where they will use acupuncture. Our osteopaths will choose the appropriate length and depth of the needle for your body size and condition. The acupucture needles are solid stainless steel, no susbtances are being injected via the needles. The needles are very thin in diameter so sometimes you can’t feel them going in, other times it feels like a quick pin-prick sensation. The osteopath inserts the needle into the trigger point as palpated with their fingers as tension spots. On occasion the trigger point will react with a twitch response lasting less than a second, this is followed by muscle relaxation where the muscle “lets go”. The area may feel like a dull ache before and once the needle has been taken out. You may also feel pain distant from the needle/ trigger point, this is referred pain and suggest we have stimulated the trigger point which is a good thing.
Is dry needling safe?
Yes, dry needling is a safe procedure and there are very little risks associated with the technique. The risk of infection in negligible as all needles are individually packed in sterile cased tubes and the skin is swabbed before the needle is inserted. The needle is only used once per muscle site and then disposed of.