When I first told my husband I was going to get dry needling certified, he thought I had lost my mind. Needles?! No way. BUT I can assure you that not only is it not scary, but it is also incredibly effective. Having had first-hand experience, I have been dealing with a calf that chronically tightens up especially after running, jump roping, and taking long walks on uneven terrain. Since I have been using dry needling, my symptoms are 90% better —and even when they do come back, they are significantly lesser and go away within a day or two, as opposed to lasting weeks or months! I am far from the only one that has experienced good outcomes with this technique, which is why it is so sought after today.
What is Dry Needling?
Dry needling is a form of therapy in which fine needles are inserted into myofascial trigger points (painful knots in muscles): tendons, ligaments or nerves in order to stimulate a healing response in painful musculoskeletal conditions. Dry needling is not acupuncture or oriental medicine—in layman’s terms, it does not have the purpose of alternating the “Qi” along traditional Chinese meridians for the treatment of diseases. In fact, dry needling is a modern, science-based intervention for the treatment of pain and dysfunction in musculoskeletal problems such as neck pain, shoulder impingement, tennis elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome, knee pain, shin splints, plantar fasciitis, and low-back pain.
Dry needling using the same needles as acupuncture, but are used instead to stimulate a healing response.
Is dry needling safe?
Drowsiness, tiredness or dizziness can occur after treatment in a small number of patients (only 1-3%) and if affected, you are advised not to drive. Minor bleeding or bruising occurs after dry needling in 15-20% of treatments, and is considered very normal. Temporary pain during dry needling occurs in 60-70% of treatments. Existing symptoms can get worse after treatment (less than 3% of patients); however, this is not necessary a bad sign. Fainting can occur in certain patients (0.3%), particularly at the first treatment session when needling the neck or head regions. Dry needling is very safe, but serious side effects can occur in less than 1 per 10,000 (less than 0.01%) treatments.
The most common serious side effect from dry needling is induced pneumothorax (lung collapse due to air inside the chest wall). The symptoms of dry needling-induced pneumothrax commonly do not occur until after the treatment session and sometimes it takes several hours to develop. The signs and symptoms of a pneumothorax may include shortness of breath (SOB) on exertion, increased breathing rate, chest pain, a dry cough, or a bluish discolorization of the skin or excessive sweating. If such signs and/or symptoms occur, you should immediately contact your physical therapist or physician. Nerves or blood vessels may be damaged from dry needling which can result in pain, numbness or tingling. This is very rare event and is usually temporary. Damage to internal organs has been reported in medical literature following needling, but these are extremely rare events (1 in 200,000).
Dr. Ashley Romine, DPT
Owner / Physical Therapist
Athlete’s Mechanic, LLC
Want to see if dry needling can help? Schedule a free screening to talk more about your options before committing to physical therapy.