What Is Dry-Needling & Acupuncture All About?

You may have heard of a treatment called dry needling and wondered what exactly it is or if it’s something that may be right for you. Or maybe you’ve even talked with me about it.

Dry needling is a treatment generally performed by physical therapists. Just like with acupuncture, a thin monofilament needle penetrates the skin and treats underlying muscular trigger points for the management of neuromusculoskeletal pain and movement impairments. We Practitioners of Chinese Medicine/Acupuncturists call it “trigger point needling” or “ashi needling” and learned how to do it in our 4 years of Chinese medical school training.

The goal is simple: to relieve pain and stiffness. So you may ask “what is a trigger point?” A trigger point is a local contracture or tight band in a muscle fiber that can disrupt function, restrict range of motion, refer pain or cause local tenderness. When needling is applied to a dysfunctional muscle or trigger point, it can decrease banding or tightness, increase blood flow, and reduce local and referred pain. This type of needling treats muscle tissue and its goal is to reduce pain, inactivate trigger points, and restore function. A wide variety of musculoskeletal issues, such as shoulder, neck, heel, hip and back pain, can be treated in this manner.

What is an at home pain reliever? My favorite liniment: Zheng Gu Shui. Everyone should have it in their medicine chests for minor aches and pains.

You can also learn how to treat your low back pain at home using my acupressure system training video.

Take care and let me know how I can help!

Dr. Martha