What is Dry Needling?

Dry needling treatment involves insertion of solid (non-hypodermic) needles into the muscle or fascia below the skin. Although the needles are the same as those used in acupuncture, dry needling is based on western medical concepts. Dry needling is also commonly referred to as trigger point dry needling, intramuscular dry needling, or simply needling. “Dry” refers to the fact that there’s no medication being injected through the needle as there would be in a trigger point injection.

The goals of dry needling may be different for each patient, but the general purpose of dry needling typically includes the following:

• Relieve pain and discomfort associated with joints, muscles, and nerves.
• Improve your body’s function and ability to move correctly and efficiently.
• Reduce trigger points, which are taut bands of muscle fibers that cause local and referred pain and limit your movement.
• Aid and speed up your body’s own healing process after injury.
• Manage pain in conditions that are chronic and have not responded adequately to other treatments.
• Relieve muscle tightness and help recovery in athletes and active individuals.

What Conditions Can Dry Needling Treat?

Dry needling is effective at treating conditions that involve joints, muscles, and nerves. Generally, if it’s something you would seek care from a chiropractor or physical therapist for, dry needling may be can be an effective part of the treatment plan.

Common conditions we treat with dry needling include the following (Note – this is not an exhaustive list, if you’re struggling with something not on this list feel free to ask our office if dry needling can help):

• Back and neck pain that is both acute and chronic.
• Disc herniations or “Pinched nerves.”
• Shoulder pain and acute shoulder injuries.
• Hip and leg pain and injuries including sciatica.
• Extremity joint and muscle pain like elbow or knee pain.
• Tension and cervicogenic headaches.

Who is Our Dry Needling Provider?

Our dry needling provider, Shelby Woodbury DC, has trained extensively in dry needling and obtains a certificate in dry needling for the pelvic floor. She’s treated hundreds of patients safely and effectively using dry needling in conjunction with other manual therapy techniques and rehab exercise strategies.

Typically, we recommend a 4 visit trial of care during which our provider uses dry needling, other manual therapy techniques, and a rehab exercise strategy to achieve your goals of treatment.

If you have questions regarding dry needling and whether it may be able to help you, feel free to read some of our Dry Needling Content or contact our office.