The last three decades adopted “Dry-Needling” as a treatment option for pain. It is designed to stimulate trigger points or “knots” (muscles that are irritated). Dry needling is not to be confused with the millennia-old treatment known as acupuncture. Acupuncture relieves issues such as discomfort, pain, and disease by opening up a person’s energy flow or “chi”. Dry needling equals the westernized version of acupuncture the same way mindful meditation is to Americanized versions of Buddhist meditation.
What Are the Benefits of Dry Needling?
Pain Relief for Muscles and Nerves:
The main benefit of dry needling is that it uses hollow-core hypodermic needles or filiform needles like with acupuncture in order to provide relief or muscular stiffness and nerve pain. Muscles relax and reduce soreness by inserting dry needles into them. These specific target areas are “trigger points”. The needles ease these so-called points to keep your muscles from feeling sore or contracted, relaxing them to a calmer and less stressed state. It can even assist in dealing with fibromyalgia pain.
Bring Down Swelling:
Instead of drinking an anti-inflammatory medication or putting on a relaxant cream on your painful muscles, you can depend on dry needling to relieve discomfort. This option is known to bring swelling down and reduce pain without trauma. If you have movement impairments due to extreme pain, don’t go straight for that ibuprofen, naproxen, or acetaminophen. A certified professional may relieve your pain by directly injecting the needles unto the skin and muscle tissue to relax the painful spot. Relaxed muscles reduce pain and inflammation.
Improve Flexibility and Increase Your Range of Motion:
Did you know that you can also increase your range of motion and improve flexibility with dry needling? There are certainly applications for this relatively new treatment for people recovering from surgery or undergoing physical rehabilitation therapy. The needles can serve as the main methods for recovery because of their ability to stimulate the muscles, especially for those who’ve been bedridden for a long time and therefore have atrophied muscles. It can even treat sports injuries on top of muscle soreness and nerve injury.
The Bottom Line
There’s less philosophy or fewer searches for enlightenment involved with mindful meditation just as there’s less focus on freeing up “chi” with dry needling. Furthermore, unlike acupuncture, dry needling does require guidelines for practice via certified medical professional. The modern approach treats specific pain on specific areas. Contact us on how we can help you relieve chronic inflammation and pain through this treatment option.
Resources:
https://draxe.com/dry-needling/
http://www.ferrellwhited.com/tips/three-amazing-benefits-of-needling-therapy/
https://www.healthline.com/health/dry-needling-vs-acupuncture#benefits-of-dryneedling
