What is Dry Needling?
Dry needling is one of the best kinds of treatment options that we have got from western medicine science. It is used to treat intense muscular pain with the help of very thin filiform needles. This process further helps in healing the muscular pain and hence treating the patients. The best part about the dry needling treatment is that it is pain-free. Yes, the insertion of a needle does not cause any pain. Dry Needling provides long lasting relief in musculoskeletal issues by restoring function. Moreover, instead of focusing only on the pain area, the dry needling works in a broader aspect and works on eliminating the root cause of the problem.
It is a very popular pain-relieving technique for patients with chronic conditions that have been dealing with pain for a prolonged time. Dry Needling is also known by some other names such as Myofascial trigger point dry needling, Myofascial dry needling, Tendomuscular dry needling and Sports dry needling.
Effects of Dry Needling:-
The order of events mentioned below explains the physiological effects of carrying out dry needling, on a patient.
Step-1 There is an ultra-micro level trauma, at the spot of the tissue where the needle is inserted.
Step-2 Brain perceives this micro injury as a fresh injury and the whole cascades comes on to action to reduce an inflammation which again plays a key role in the treatment.
Step-3 The local twitch response at the trigger point area in the affected muscle leads to increase the supply of blood to the treated area. This automatically increases the flow of oxygen to the affected area and hence healing starts occurring at a promoted speed.
Step-4 Provided that the needle is properly inserted, it causes a twitch response. This involuntary contraction of the treated part followed by relaxation of the tightened / shortened muscle and leads to restoration of function of the affected muscle.
Step-5 Once the recovery begins, it increases the blood flow and oxygenation. The pain also decreases to a great extent. Also, there is a huge decrease in the length-tension of the fibres of the muscles.
Benefits of using dry needling:-
With the usage of dry needling, various disorders are treated all over the globe. These disorders are:-.
Acute and chronic injuries
Tension Headaches
Neck and back pain
Tendinitis
Muscle Spasms
Hip and Knee Pain
Muscle Strains
Elbow Pain
Runner’s Knee
Overuse Injuries.
For physiotherapists, dry needling is one of the best methods because it helps them to treat the root cause of the problem with the use of that needle. Because otherwise trying to fix the ailment by identifying it only through the surface level would result in an incorrect and incomplete diagnosis.
Is dry needling the same as acupuncture?
Very often people think that dry needling is the same as acupuncture. Well, they may appear to be similar but on a fundamental level, they’re quite different from each other.
Acupuncture:-
This technique is as old as 8000 years ago. It is based on a belief that life has a flowing energy called chi, that moves throughout the body, via different pathways. This energy gets blocked that causes the problem.
Dry Needling:-
This one in comparison to acupuncture is based on western anatomy. It does not use any form of chi energy, but certainly follows the trigger points.
Similarities between Dry Needling and Acupuncture:-
Though these two techniques vary on a fundamental level, they exhibit some similarities as well such as:-
Both modes of treatment used needles.
Both the treatments aim to treat conditions involving pain.
None of the two techniques involves the usage of any kind of drug.
Conclusion,:-
When it comes to dry needling, it can be used to manage pain of myofascial origin & musculoskeletal conditions. It has helped millions of people all over the globe to get rid of the pain. Above all, it is safe to apply.
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