Dry Needling: What are the benefits?

April 1, 2019 Posted in: ACCUPUNCTURE

Dry needling and acupuncture involve puncturing the skin with thin needles for therapeutic purposes. While a shared aim is to provide relief from pain, the practices are otherwise very different!

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

For dry needling, the Dr. Nicholls inserts short, thin, stainless steel filiform needles into pressure points. Also called trigger points, these are tight areas or knots in the muscles. The needles contain no liquid, and nothing is injected (hence the name dry needling!).

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

The most common practice is to leave the needles in the muscle for 10–30 minutes. However, there are two less common types of dry needling:

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

1️⃣The in and out technique, during which a practitioner inserts a filiform needle into a trigger point and removes it right away. Results of a 2014 review suggest that this form of dry needling provides no benefits.

2️⃣The non-trigger points technique, during which a practitioner inserts needles into surrounding muscle, instead of a knot or pressure point.

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Interested in this form of treatment? Click the link below to book online with Dr. Nicholls!

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????