What is the purpose of dry-needling

• Michael

  • Create micro-trauma to help stimulate blood flow and the healing process

  • Relieving pain in persistent areas of concern

  • Chronic pain of neuropathic origin with few side effects

  • Releases muscle tension which can increase ROM

  • Simply a modality for muscular pain and myofascial dysfunction

  • Intramuscular stimulation

  • Relaxing overactive muscles

Reflection:

• Micro-trauma: Vampire facials are a thing and in blood there are growth factors which are used in the healing process

• When you get injured the gooey things that appear on your injury before it scabs are those growth factors trying to build new skin and heal you up

• By attacking a specific area, you force the area to focus about many things instead of staying locked up

How do you know if someone is a good candidate for DN

• David

  • If the pain is in a more centralized area it makes it much easier and much more efficient for the needle to help

  • But also their type of injury is taken account too

  • You wouldn’t DN someone that had surgery but more someone that’s having deep pain

Reflection:

• By having the pain be in a more centralized area it allows the growth factors to have a good effect on the injury instead of simply trying to spread the growth factors thinly to many different areas

• This also allows it to in general, be easier to deal with

Michael sometimes leaves the needles in for a bit but David doesn’t and usually moves the needle in and out, why is that and what’re the different benefits?

• David’s technique allows for him to be able hit a lot of trigger points which can spark a lot of areas to heal and relieve the pain

• Michael’s allows the patient to not be constantly hurt by the needle but also leaving the needle in makes it have more time to create the micro-trauma needed and other things.

Reflection:

• David hits many trigger points which stimulates growth hormones in a lot of different places while Mike makes the needle focus on one are at a time

• David gets many things done with this technique but Mike makes sure that each is doing their job

Why is there some controversy about DN?

• Due to the fact that the quality of evidence is not strong

• It is also a relatively new modality and is associated with acupuncture which it is not like in any way

• Some states have turned down licensure for dry needling

Reflection:

• DN doesn’t work the same way in every person. Certain people it helps immensely and certain people it just deters them. It’s not a magical panacea.

• Practitioners and researchers are still wary about it due to the fact that a lot of things can go wrong but it doesn’t hurt to at the very least, take a class and learn, maybe even try

What are some of the “danger” spots that you should be wary about when needling?

• Anywhere that you might puncture a lung or hurt some nerves and blood vessels

• Local infections, bleeding disorders, diabetes, epilepsy, frail, bad/weak psychological status or pregnancy are things that take a person out from being a candidate

• Lymphedema site which may increase the risk of infection/cellulitis

Reflection:

• There are certain angles that you have to put the needle in at certain areas

• Just like when drawing blood, you have to go in at a certain angle so you can get to the area you want

• Though with drawing blood you make the veins pop out and with DN you “blindly” go in, they’re quite similar

How long does it take for the patient to feel the benefits if they do?

• A couple of weeks after it’s done but some patients feel better around a week or less after it’s done

Reflection:

• Just like getting a cut, it takes a while for the wound to scab over and not be a nuisance when you’re going about your everyday activities

• DN is intramuscular so it isn’t superficial like a cut but the concept is the same

What is so good about the needle used?

• It’s a thing and flexible monofilament which allows the pain when inserting to be minimal and the flexibility allows the needle to weave around things that the therapist does not want to come in contact with

• Though there are different size needles, they are all relatively small

Reflection:

• The needle is flexible which is a good way to make sure that it doesn’t break inside the patient and a lawsuit is filed

• By being small, it allows the pain to not be so massive while the therapist is trying to find the trigger point

What is the difference between DN and acupuncture

• Dry Needling is technique to treat the neuromusculoskeletal systems based on pain patterns, muscular dysfunction, and other orthopedic signs and symptoms which depends upon physical examination and assessment to guide the treatment. Acupuncture is a technique for balancing the Flow of Energy or Life Force, known as Qi or Chi, believed to flow through meridians, pathways, in your body.

Reflection:

• When DN is brought up, a large amount of patients ask if it’s like acupuncture which isn’t all that surprising or new because acupuncture is the most well known thing dealing with needles going inside a human body and healing them.

• It is important to always inform your patients the differences between things and answer their questions

• What benefits does it pose for athletes then

By deactivating the trigger points in muscles on both sides of a joint, it can:

• Restore joint range of motion

• Restore muscle strength

• Improve joint function

• For athletes

• By restoring kinetic chain imbalances

• Optimum flexibility, strength, agility, quickness, and power

Reflection:

• Before region I plan to ask Mike or David to needle me due to the fact that I’m sure my body will be extremely tense due to all the months of high intensity workouts done and I would like my body to be loose so I can be able to perform at the utmost of my abilities and not injure myself by having taught and turgid muscles.

What condition(s) respond to DN

• Variety of musculoskeletal problems

• acute/chronic injuries

• Headaches

• neck/back pain

• Tendonitis

• Muscle spasms

• Sciatica

• Hip and knee pain

• Muscle strains

• Fibromyalgia

• Tennis and golfer’s elbow

• Overuse injuries

• Plantar fasciitis

Reflection:

• DN can help relieve pain in all types of injuries and there is no single use or injury specifically for DN

• Majority of these are extremely common injuries which also shows that DN helps a large array of injuries

When you’re needling someone, how do you know you have a good spot

• The spot is tender

• The patient when asked about the spot, says that there’s pain there

• When the patient feels the most pain

Reflection:

• When a spot is tender, it tells you that there is a muscular or tissue issue there

• It’s like getting a bruise

• That spot is injured and is soft due to the fact that it’s trying to heal

• Pain from not so much tender areas may be due to overuse of the area/muscle and it has contracted as a way to relax or to lessen the amount of strain put on it