What is Dry Needling in Physical Therapy? Exploring the Benefits and Applications

Physical therapy is a process and to many of us, it can feel overwhelming to get that process started. It requires consistency and commitment to the plan in order to get us out of pain and back to doing what we love. What if there was something that helped speed up that process and enhance your rehab experience? That’s where dry needling comes in.

Dry needling is the use of needles with electric stimulation to relieve pain and promote recovery in many different ways. It is gaining popularity in physical therapy settings to aid in rapid relief and recovery. In this post, we’ll explore the details surrounding the dry needling experience, why it works and how it may be helpful for you!

Understanding Dry Needling

Dry needling is a therapeutic technique that involves inserting thin needles directly into muscles to impact the local tissue environment and interact with your nervous system. When the needle is inserted to a specific muscular trigger point, a localized twitch response is often elicited which results in relieving tension and improving tissue health. The addition of electric stimulation at the needle site further helps relieve pain by evacuating fluid from the area and improving neuromuscular efficiency.

The needles used for dry needling are the same as what you’ll see during an acupuncture treatment, however the techniques and rationale behind the needle placement tend to differ. Acupuncture takes an alternative medicine approach to placing needles in specific locations to restore energy flow in the body while dry needling targets specific anatomy to influence the physiology of the body.  The purpose of both is to provide relief in pain and restore function.

Benefits of Dry Needling

The main benefits of dry needling include pain relief, improved range of motion, enhanced recovery and reduced muscular tension.  This treatment can be extremely beneficial for acute and chronic conditions. With acute pain conditions like an ankle sprain, muscle strains or tendinitis, we see inflammation in the area and muscle tension to protect the injured area. The dry needling helps relieve muscle tension and the use of electric stimulation helps to flush inflammation out of the area. With chronic pain conditions like back pain, tension headaches or muscle strains, we tend to see changes in the brain and how our brain senses information at the painful area. Dry needling with electric stimulation helps improve how our brain communicates and senses information at the painful area.

The localized twitch response we get from inserting a needle into a trigger point results in relaxation of muscle tension allowing you to move through a greater range of motion. Increasing a joint’s range of motion is often a part of a rehab goal because it helps to disperse load better. This is helpful when looking at your likelihood of preventing future injuries once you return to full activity.

Using dry needling post injury or surgery can help enhance the natural recovery process. After an injury your body will have an inflammatory response in order to heal the area which often becomes painful. Frequent moving of the injured area is helpful in this phase to promote circulation to promote continued healing. However, it can be difficult to continue moving when it is painful or you are instructed to limit exercise after a surgical procedure! The use of dry needling to passively contract your muscles helps to deliver a similar stimulus to facilitate quicker rehabilitation.

Applications of Dry Needling in Physical Therapy

Dry needling is commonly used in sports injury rehab. Injuries like muscle strains, joint sprains and overuse injuries respond really well to this treatment and help athletes get back on the field ever faster. Athletes typically enjoy the benefits of dry needling with electric stimulation not only because of the pain relieving results but the performance enhancing effects as well. Increasing motor output and awareness of joints and muscles helps to maximize performance after sustaining an injury.

Dry needling is a helpful adjunct to chronic pain management. When someone experiences pain for many months, even years, there are changes that happen to the brain and how it communicates with and monitors the painful area. Electric stimulation can help stimulate areas of the brain to adjust how pain signals are being interpreted. By being able to alter how pain is interpreted, it allows for people to move more freely in order to see progress within their chronic pain journey,

Post-surgical management often requires immobilization to an area that was repaired in order to allow for tissue healing. While we don’t want to directly dry needle the surgical area for 6-8 weeks, we can utilize this treatment in neighboring regions. This can be advantageous to post-surgical healing because it helps passively pump muscles when the person can’t exercise them actively. This process aids in healing and recovery in the absence of moving the body itself.

What to Expect During a Dry Needling Session

Dry needling can seem like an intimidating treatment to experience for some people! Here is what to expect:

During your initial assessment with your therapist, he or she will gather information about your pain like where it is located and what activities aggravate and relieve those symptoms. The assessment also includes examining the area for range of motion, strength and symptom reproduction to gain a better perspective of what tissues are involved. Once that is clearly determined, your therapist will be able to recommend if dry needling is appropriate for you in your rehabilitation process.

If dry needling is appropriate for you, this is what you can expect. The therapist will identify an area to target and palpate for a trigger point in the muscle. Once that is found, you will feel pressure from the therapist’s fingers to hold the tissue still and pressure from the guide tube that the needle is in. A quick tap of the needle to insert it into the muscle is done and as the needle is guided into the muscle, people often feel an achy, crampy sensation. Another common feeling is a brief twitch of the muscle as the needle goes into a trigger point which is a good response to help with your rehab goals! Once the needles are in the correct location, people often don’t feel any discomfort. If electric stimulation is used, the therapist will gradually increase the intensity of the stim until you start to feel it. This is often reported to feel like the muscles are “thumping” with passive minor contractions and relaxations. If it feels scratchy or sharp at all, tell your therapist and they can adjust settings to make it more comfortable to experience. 

Afterwards, the therapist will remove the needles and re-examine your range of motion and/or strength and assess for any improvements. Some people may report a bit of post needling soreness, but that does not last longer than a few hours. We suggest following up your dry needling sessions with movement and good hydration to help minimize any discomfort. Exercise after a session is encouraged!

As dry needling becomes more and more popular, improved outcomes in the rehabilitation world are to follow. As you can see, there are multiple scenarios where dry needling is indicated and multiple benefits one can receive from this type of intervention! If you’re in pain and looking to accelerate your road to recovery, it is time to seek a rehab professional who is skilled in dry needling. We would love to be a part of your dry needling rehab journey here at Onward physical therapy! Contact your local Onward Physical Therapy clinic to get started today.

Dry needling can seem like an intimidating treatment to have for some! During your initial assessment with your therapist, he or she will gather information about your pain like where it is located and what activities aggravate and relieve those symptoms. The assessment also includes examining the area for range of motion, strength and symptom reproduction to gain a better perspective of what tissues are involved. Once that is clearly determined, your therapist will be able to recommend if dry needling is appropriate for you in your rehabilitation process.