Dry Needling

Specializing in Dry Needling Courses for the Management of the Neuromuscular System.

Applications For Pain Management & Sports Injuries: Advanced Physical Therapy Techniques

Dry Needling education is a valuable manual therapy technique for the evaluation and treatment of neuromyofascial pain and dysfunction present in the acute and chronic population. Instruction will include evaluation and application of dry needling of neuromyofascial dysfunction for musculature which is considered appropriate at the introductory level of training. Other topics to be covered are: common diagnosis and manual therapy assessment, safety, clean needling techniques, and review of the supporting literature and marketing. This course is designed for physical therapists but is appropriate for MD’s and DO's.

Definition of Trigger Point Dry Needling (Dry Needling)

Dry Needling involves multiple advances of a filament needle into the muscle in the region of a “Trigger Point’. The aim of Dry Needling is to achieve a local twitch response to release muscle tension and pain. Dry needling is an effective treatment for chronic pain of neuropathic origin with very few side effects. This technique is unequaled in finding and eliminating neuromuscular dysfunction that leads to pain and functional deficits. The needle used is very thin and most subjects do not even feel it penetrate the skin. A healthy muscle feels very little discomfort with insertion of this needle. However if the muscle is sensitive and shortened or has active trigger points within it, the subject will feel a sensation like a muscle cramp -‘the twitch response’. The patient also may feel a reproduction of “their” pain which is a helpful diagnostic indicator for the practitioner attempting to diagnose the cause of the patients symptoms. Patients soon learn to recognize and even welcome this sensation as it results in deactivating the trigger point, reducing pain and restoring normal length function to the involved muscle.