4 Indisputable Facts about Dry Needling You Need to Know

If you have injured muscles, you need a therapy treatment that could effectively relieve pain and heal the muscles. If the therapy treatments you have tried so far haven't been effective, it's time to try more effective ones such as dry needling. During the needling treatment, a physiotherapist inserts thin needles into the injured muscles to trigger tissue healing and make the muscles functional again. However, most people don't understand how sticking some tiny needles in the injured muscles could relieve pain even though it's among the most effective techniques they need to try. See what you didn't know about dry needling.

It Involves Trigger Points

The physiotherapist presses your body to identify the painful or tensed muscles, or trigger points, to know where to stick the fine needles. Most trigger points are composed of fascial or taut muscular bands that decrease the blood flow. The pain you feel when you have injured muscles could be due to motor dysfunction and tenderness. Trigger points mainly develop when the muscles are excessively engaged in recreational, occupational or sports activities. Unlike other muscular therapy treatments, dry needling release these trigger points to alleviate muscular stress and pain.

Needles Target the Injured or Painful Muscles

It is one thing to know the muscle pain and injuries that dry needling can treat, and it is another thing to know how the technique works. When a physiotherapist or chiropractor inserts the fine needles on your body, some tiny wounds or microlesions are formed. The tensed or painful muscles begin to heal once the needles enter the body. The body sends its clean-up crew—blood containing the white cells and nutrients—to the injured part to initiate the healing process and carry away waste. The microlesions or tiny wounds stimulate the body, causing it to release various biochemicals that speed up the healing process.

The Treatment Resets the Neuromuscular System

Dry needling resets or restores the nervous system when it's ill or injured, helping it to control the muscles more effectively. When the nervous system is injured, the muscles become overactive at rest, causing muscle spasms. The muscles can also be less active, being unable to function voluntarily. By inserting the tiny needles into injured muscles, a reset button is pushed on the nervous system, making the underactive muscles more active and decreasing spasm in the overactive muscles. This way, the injured muscles become more efficient because the pain has been alleviated.

Things to Do After the Needling Treatment

Although soreness develops after dry needling, it could resolve after 24 hours. Gentle stretching, heat or ice can help you reduce soreness and heal the sore muscles. Take a lot of clean water to keep your body hydrated after the needling treatment. Work out, stretch or engage in other physical exercises as instructed by your physical therapist. Go for massage sessions often to stimulate the tissues and help the injured muscles resolve pain and soreness faster. 

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