What does Dry Needling do?

Dry needling is a technique we use to release trigger points (knots) in muscles, improve blood flow to affected areas, and decrease pain. Dry needling involves inserting a thin, mono-filament needle into a muscle’s trigger point until it releases, which is typically for only a few seconds.

When a trigger point releases, you will typically feel a quick contraction of the muscle, called a twitch response. The experience of a twitch during dry needling is a normal reaction, and it confirms that we successfully treated the muscle trigger point. Dry needling can be used alone or combined with other therapies that we offer at the clinic. 

Dry needling can also be paired with electrical stimulation (e-stim). While dry needling is very effective on its own for the treatment of trigger points, the addition of e-stim can provide greater pain relief for some patients. Dry needling with e-stim can help to desensitize a painful area, and it can also act as a “neurological reset” for chronically tight or spasmed muscles.