Dry Needling
Dry needling is a great adjunct to physiotherapy treatment. It involves inserting a fine needle (or acupuncture needle) into a myofascial trigger point. Initially, trigger points are produced as a normal, protective physiological measure in the presence of actual or potential muscle damage. However, when these trigger points are sustained it can contribute to pain and loss of range of motion. Pain caused by trigger points is due to lack of oxygen and blood flow within the muscle, which decreases the pH of the muscle.
Dry needling of these myofascial trigger points can stimulate a local twitch response – an involuntary spinal cord reflex contraction of the muscle fibres. Triggering this response has been shown to increase oxygen and blood flow to the muscle to restore its natural pH levels, thus alleviating pain.
Dry needling can also target deep myofascial trigger points which may be difficult to reach with traditional massage and manual therapy.