Dry Needling
Dry Needling in Sarasota
What Is Dry Needling?
Dry needling is a technique that physical therapists can use to treat pain and movement impairments caused by dysfunction within soft tissue and joints.
The physical therapist inserts a “dry” needle, called "dry" because it's used without medication, into areas of the muscle or within joint spaces with the goals of stimulating a localized healing response and restoration of pain-free function of the involved area.
Dry needling is not acupuncture. Acupuncture is based on traditional Chinese medicine and is performed by acupuncturists. Dry needling is a part of modern Western medicine and is supported by extensive research and shown to be an outstanding supplement to other traditional physical therapy services like manual therapy and corrective exercise.
What Kind of Needles Are Used?
Dry needling involves the use of extremely thin and sterile filiform needles.
The needle penetrates underlying muscular and connective tissues as well as joint spaces that are involved or dysfunctional in some way. The needle allows a us to effectively target and treat tissues that we are unable to reach with our hands.
The needle penetrates underlying muscular and connective tissues as well as joint spaces that are involved or dysfunctional in some way. The needle allows a us to effectively target and treat tissues that we are unable to reach with our hands.
The ideal treatment involves using as few needles as possible (often just 1-5) to achieve the desired results. Sometimes we supplement the needling treatment with electrical stimulation to amplify the effects of pain relief, improved blood flow, improved muscle function and reduced inflammation.
The used needles are disposed of in a medical sharps collector.
The used needles are disposed of in a medical sharps collector.
How Could Dry Needling Help Me?
Dry needling can stimulate restoration of normal tissue function at the cellular level, increase blood flow, release trigger points or change the way the body interprets pain signals. All of these potential outcomes of dry needling help to relieve pain, improve strength and/or improve range of motion and facilitate improved neuromuscular function in the dysfunctional areas being treated. Research shows that dry needling improves pain control and reduces muscle tension. Research also shows that dry needling can normalize the sensitivity of areas of the body from which nerve impulses get transmitted to muscles. This can help speed up one’s return to an active and pain-free life.
When physical therapists use dry needling, it is typically part of a larger treatment plan that also includes manual therapy (soft-tissue work, stretching, etc.), patient education as well as exercise prescription.
As part of their entry-level education and daily work-related demands, physical therapists are well educated in anatomy and treatment of the body. The physical therapists who practice dry needling at Your Place PT have completed extensive continuing education to ensure proper and safe performance of the treatments and to facilitate quality results from our dry needling treatments.
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