Dry needling is a great way to help reduce pain and manage the symptoms from trigger points found within our muscles. This helps to relieve the tension from tight muscles, leaving you feeling better and having more motion available at the muscles so they can function better too.
How does it work?
During dry needling, we insert an acupuncture-like needle into the trigger points, which we locate first. Don’t worry - while you may feel a muscle ‘twitch’, this is short-lived and often not painful. Once we have hit the trigger point, we remove and safely dispose of the needles and voila!
Dry needling does not often cause bleeding, bruising or pain once the needles have been removed. This is because the needles are very thin, so unless it hits a vein close to the skin surface (often unpredictable), we do not expect to see any signs that you’ve had dry needling at all.
We can use dry needling on the leg and foot alike, where it can benefit your injury or condition. Often it is used for:
- Plantar fasciitis
- Calf tightness (and where tight calves have contributed to the development of other conditions)
- Shin splints (medial tibial stress syndrome)
- Hamstring pain
- Neuropathy
How do I book in for dry needling?
Dry needling is not a standalone treatment, but is an effective component of an overall management plan. It is a great support to a stretching and strengthening program, which is often paired with shockwave or orthotic therapy, depending on the injury or condition you have.
When we discuss your tailored treatment plan at your initial consultation, we’ll talk to you about dry needling if you meet the criteria and we believe that it will benefit your recovery.
Dry needling is not recommended for those that are pregnant, are taking anticoagulants such as warfarin, have bleeding/clotting disorders, cancer or have an infection or wound in the area.