Dry Needling

Responses vary between individuals, but most people describe it as pressure or discomfort rather than pain. Individuals who generally report the pain or discomfort is worth the symptom relief.

You may have increased pain or muscle soreness for a few hours or days after treatment. This is normal and feels similar to how muscles feel after an intense workout. This is typically followed by an improvement in symptoms.

Some individuals experience mild bruising where the needle enters the skin, but this fades quickly. Bruising is more common in the shoulders, neck, head, face, arms, and legs. You can treat the bruising with ice as needed.

Any extreme soreness that lasts beyond 48 hours should be reported to the provider.

The needles vary in size depending on the treatment area, but the majority are .30mm in diameter and range from 1 to 4 inches long. For reference, most earrings are 1mm gauge, so these needles are a third the diameter of an earring post.

Dry needling can be a stand alone treatment or it can be integrated into your session with other forms of manual therapy and therapeutic exercise. It can be used for pain relief, soft tissue restrictions, nerve symptoms, and muscle recovery.

Acupuncture is based on Chinese medicine and theory. It is used for musculoskeletal pain and systemic pathologies such as anxiety and high blood pressure. It uses needles to improve or correct the flow of energy, known as “Qi” in the body’s meridian map, and balancing “Yin and Yang.”

Dry needling is based on modern biomedical science and is used to treat trigger points and muscle fibers related to specific symptoms of pain. Dry needling practitioners don’t use acupuncture terms or principles.

The only similarity between acupuncture and dry needling is the use of small filament needles.

Dry needling treatment is included in our evaluation and follow up session rates.