Dry Needling in Towson MD

Dry needling is a drug-free treatment performed by skilled, trained, and certified chiropractors, medical doctors, and physical therapists. The practitioner uses a thin monofilament needle to penetrate the skin and treat underlying muscular trigger points or muscle tension, injuries, and pain. This process has been proven to relieve and improve neuromusculoskeletal pain and movement impairments in many patients.

A trigger point is an area of constriction or tension in muscle fibers that can disrupt function, restrict mobility or range of motion, and cause intense pain and tenderness. Dry needling is used to target these tight trigger points in a particular muscle so that they loosen, allow blood flow to increase, and relieve pain.

While the name may sound intimidating or painful, dry needling causes minimal discomfort if any. Our patients compare dry needling's effectiveness to that of multiple deep tissue massages, but in a fraction of the time. During dry needling, a patient may feel a twitch in the muscle as it releases tension. This practice dates back to the 1970s when a physician ran a study that tested injecting medication into trigger points. The physician was shocked to find out that the control group that didn’t receive any sort of medication (aka the dry needle), saw significant improvement. After a series of additional tests, dry needling was developed using acupuncture needles to stimulate the tissue in and around a trigger point and now is rapidly growing in popularity due to its effectiveness in relieving pain and healing injuries.

All tissues (including muscles) respond to two different types of stimuli: chemical (ex: drugs or breaking the tissue) and mechanical (ex: massage or exercise). Dry needling uses very thin dry needles that puncture the skin and slide through the tissue. The needles provide a constant mechanical stimulus to the trigger points while they’re in place, which is usually about 8-10 minutes. The mechanical stimulus provided is similar to what your muscles would get from a massage but because the needle doesn’t need to release pressure like a hand does when massaging a muscle, the pressure remains constant and is able to provide relief in a very short period of time.

In addition to the mechanical stimulus that Dry Needling provides, it is also an effective way to improve blood flow and oxygenation to damaged tissue. Dry needling provides a natural way to relieve pain using anti-inflammatory mediators that exist in the body to decrease the sensation of pain. If you are looking for more information on how this process works, read this research out of the Natural Institute of Health that describes these pathways in detail.

While the same sort of dry needles are used in both practices that is really the only similarity between them. Acupuncture focuses on placing dry needles on energy or meridian lines while dry needling has a musculoskeletal approach focused on placing needles in muscles that are tight or in pain to relieve that pain and tension. This is very different than acupuncture, which is an Asian complete system of healing focusing on meridians, energy, and chi.

For the best dry needle therapy in Towson and to start feeling better faster, call our office today (410) 296-7700 or schedule your appointment by filling the form above.