Manual therapy

A quick and powerful form of soft-tissue treatment, dry needling is considered a precise, pin-point approach to relieving pain, improving mobility and reducing tension.

What is Dry Needling?

Dry needling involves the insertion of thin filament needles into a painful or knotted part of a muscle which is commonly referred to as a myofascial trigger point. The aim of dry needling is to reduce the myofascial pain and discomfort associated with these trigger points by eliciting local and central nervous responses. 

Each needle is incredibly fine – ranging from 0.15 to 0.30 millimetres in diameter – and individually packaged, sterile, and single-use. 

During treatment, each needle is gently inserted into the tense muscle at the location of a myofascial trigger point, carefully manipulated to promote the therapeutic effect, and then removed after a short period, usually 5-10 minutes. 

How Does it Work?

Each needle creates a small and precise lesion in the tissue of the muscle at the point of insertion. The lesion is interpreted as a minor injury by the brain, which triggers a sequence of events to replace or repair the damaged muscle with new, healthy tissue. 

Following this event, the muscle fibres in the myofascial trigger point begin to relax, inflammation gradually ceases, circulation improves and the muscle commences the process of returning to normal function.

These responses – enhanced circulation, reduced inflammation and relaxed muscular tissue – makes dry needling an effective adjunct to various other forms of treatment during rehabilitation. 

Our approach to dry needling.

At A Plus Physiotherapy, dry needling is commonly used in conjunction with a range of other hands-on treatment modalities to better facilitate your recovery.

Dry needling is an efficient and effective treatment for various musculoskeletal conditions. When utilised alongside additional manual therapies as part of a comprehensive treatment plan, dry needling primarily contributes to:

• Reduced pain and sensitivity,
• Improved mobility and flexibility, and 
• Improved muscle tightness

Although dry needling can be highly effective in relieving muscular pain caused by strains, myofascial trigger points can also be caused by overuse of muscles due to other musculoskeletal dysfunctions. Our therapists will conduct a comprehensive assessment to develop the most appropriate treatment plan for you, to help you get back to your best, quickly.

What should I expect during my consultation?

Before any dry needling therapy takes place, we first diagnose the presence of any myofascial trigger points using non-invasive assessment techniques. Once your trigger points are located, we’ll develop an individualised treatment plan that may or may not include dry needling as an approach.

Generally speaking, there is no significant sensation during dry needling, although each individual responds differently. Healthy muscles typically feel very little. If the muscle contains a trigger point, or is overly sensitive or tight, the result can be a brief cramp-like twitch sensation. This twitch response is caused by the sudden slight contraction of the muscle. While the twitch response may be slightly uncomfortable initially, it instigates an important therapeutic reaction in the body.

What are some common conditions dry needling can help with?

Dry needling is has proven to be effective for a number of conditions and can show positive effects before you have even left the room. It is often used for acute pain reduction to allow for rehabilitative exercises to be more effective and easier to perform.

Some common conditions we use dry needling for include:

• Tennis and Golfer’s elbow
• Gluteal pain
• Lower back pain
• Neck pain or tension headaches
• Tendon Pain
• Soft tissue strains

Is it a one session fix?

Like any physiotherapy treatment, you will be required to perform some corrective exercises along with the dry needling. Often the dry needle will reduce the pain from the local issue but does not necessarily fix the root cause of the problem. This is where the exercises come in. Like any injury or condition this may require a few sessions to teach the body how to operate effectively and reduce the likelihood that the condition or injury will return. 

Is dry needling safe?

Dry needling is a safe form of  treatment when performed by trained professionals with serious side effects being very rare – less than 1 per 10,000 treatments. These will be explained by the treating physiotherapists. The technique used is a clean, sterile technique which limits any risk of infection.

As with any treatment there may be some associated minor side effects which one of our practitioners will discuss with you and may include drowsiness, nausea or minor bleeding or bruising.

Can it be used for everyone?

Dry needling is suitable for MOST people but like most therapies there are some more high risk patients who we would be less likely to utilise this treatment for. Some of these patients include those who are pregnant, have blood clotting disorders, patients post-surgery and those who have a phobia of needles.