Trigger Point Dry Needling

Trigger Point Dry Needling (TPDN) is an advanced therapeutic technique used to alleviate muscle pain and dysfunction. It involves the insertion of thin, monofilament needles into myofascial trigger points—tight knots of muscle that can cause localized or referred pain.

A Myofascial Trigger Point: What Is It?

Trigger Points for Myofascial Pain are extremely irritable muscular knots. It is possible to feel the hypersensitive nodules inside the muscle fibers. A tight band inside the muscle can cause pain locally or send pain to other parts of the body, which can cause discomfort and impair function and movement.

For instance, you may feel headaches, shoulder, or upper back discomfort in addition to neck pain if trigger points are found in the trapezius muscle, which is a very big muscle in the neck.

Dry needling: what is it?

Dry needling involves inserting sterile, single-use, extremely tiny acupuncture needles into the skin and the tight band of muscles. Since no medicine is administered into the body, it is “dry.”

Dry needling is used to extend tense muscles, relax them, and reduce discomfort inside a trigger point. It can relieve pressure on the blood vessels and neurons supplying the muscle. By releasing the Myofascial Trigger Point, the goal is to assist in alleviating pain and restore mobility and general function.

Trigger point dry needling: what is it?

You may be wondering what trigger point dry needling is and whether it hurts if you’ve heard of it. Although the word can evoke fear or anguish, trigger point dry needling causes very little if any, discomfort.

Physicians, physical therapists, and chiropractors with the necessary training, certification, and expertise can provide trigger point dry needling without the use of drugs. By puncturing the outer layer of the skin with a small monofilament instrument, the medical professional treats underlying muscle trigger points, tension, injuries, and pain. Numerous individuals’ neuromusculoskeletal discomfort and mobility deficits are relieved and improved by this procedure.

A region of muscle fiber constriction or tension known as a trigger point can impair function, limit the range of motion, and produce excruciating pain and soreness. Targeting these painful, tight trigger points in a specific muscle with trigger point dry needling helps them relax, improve blood flow, and reduce pain.

Many physicians fail to address the root cause of issues, and rehabilitation exercises won’t work if the practitioner just concentrates on them since the trigger points’ tension and discomfort haven’t been relieved. Although we employ rehabilitation exercises regularly in our office, relying only on one approach is not the most effective strategy to help patients recover more quickly.

Trigger point dry needling is as effective as several deep tissue massages, yet it takes a fraction of the time, according to our patients. The patient does not experience any pain from the needles during a trigger point dry needling treatment, but they may experience a twitch in the muscle or pressure when the tension is released. Some patients only experience slight discomfort, twitch, or pressure throughout the procedure; they are not even aware that the needles are entering their skin.

In the 1970s, a doctor conducted research to test injecting medicine into trigger points, which is when trigger point dry needling first appeared. The doctor was surprised to learn that the control group, which was given the dry needle instead of any medicine, nonetheless had a notable reduction in pain. Trigger point dry needling, which uses acupuncture needles to stimulate the tissue in and around a trigger point, was created following several more tests. Because of its efficacy in reducing pain and mending injuries, it is currently gaining popularity quickly.

Patients’ outcomes after a brief trigger point dry needling session are astounding. The sort of pain a patient is feeling helps us establish how long the needles should be kept in the muscle. Needles may only be used for a few seconds for discomfort that isn’t located deep into a muscle. We often keep the needles in place for ten to fifteen minutes when the pain is more severe and deep. Most individuals don’t feel any discomfort during that period, although you could twitch or feel pressure.

What Is the Process of Dry Needling?

The two broad kinds of dry needling are superficial and deep tissue. Both involve inserting a filiform needle, which is very tiny and measures around 0.3 mm. However, the style and mechanics of the needling are determined by the depth to which the needle is placed.

To reach myofascial trigger points, deep dry needling involves inserting needles deeply into muscles. The needle may be “pistoned” in an up-and-down motion or placed and left in the muscle, depending on who is doing the treatment. Regardless of the method, the intended outcome is known as a Local Twitch Response (LTR). The LTR causes the muscles around the needle to rapidly contract and relax.

In the short term, this could cause more discomfort, but in the long run, it might relieve muscular tension. According to the gateway hypothesis of pain management, new research also indicates that the local twitch response may trigger the production of endogenous opioids, which would reduce pain similarly to TENS devices and provide a local analgesic (numbing) response.

Some professionals have recently begun using superficial (shallow) dry needling to alleviate pain in tendons, muscular fascia, scar tissue, and connective tissue.

Mechanical  Impacts:

• Dry needling can mechanically interrupt a defective motor end plate and repair it.
• One consequence of needling is a Local Twitch Response (LTR).
• The LTR has an inhibitory impact on antagonistic muscles and adjusts the length of muscular fibers.

Trigger Point Dry Needling Advantages:

Pain Relief: Trigger point dry needling can help relieve pain whether you’re recuperating from an accident or coping with life’s daily stressors. It works especially well for conditions including chronic pain, tendonitis, and muscular spasms.

Increased Mobility: It can be challenging to carry out everyday duties when your range of motion is restricted by tight muscles.

Quicker Recovery: Trigger point dry needling helps hasten your recuperation if you’ve just sustained an injury. Dry needling might speed up your recovery by easing tense muscles and increasing blood flow to the affected area.

Supports Your Active Lifestyle Being active is vital for your general health, whether you’re going to the gym, doing errands, or chasing after your children. You may include trigger point dry needling into your routine with ease, keeping you active and involved in your favorite activities.

What may be treated with trigger point dry needles?

Numerous conditions can be treated using trigger point dry needling, such as:

• Disc issues such as pinched nerves or herniated discs
• Tendinitis
• Migraine and tension headaches
• TMJ and other temporomandibular joint disorders
• Whiplash
• Repetitive motion
• Spinal problems
• Knee pain
• Shoulder pain
• Osteoarthritis pain
• Hip pain
• Sports injuries
• Fibromyalgia pain
• Plantar fasciitis
• Neuropathy
• Achilles tendonitis
• Shin splints
• Pelvic pain

What Makes Acupuncture Different from Dry Needling?

Although the same type of needle is used in both acupuncture and dry needling, the two practices take somewhat distinct approaches. Dry needling uses needles in a fairly straightforward manner; to get the desired result, the needles are put straight into the afflicted region.

Acupuncture practitioners may assert that acupuncture helps direct the flow of Chi or that it targets sympathetic connections between bodily regions, depending on their training and experience. Instead of sticking a needle into a trigger point, a normal acupuncture session involves five to twenty acupuncture needles being put in different body areas and then left there for a while.

A person receiving acupuncture for shoulder discomfort could have needles inserted in their feet and knees, for instance, rather than the actual location of the pain, as the placement of the needles is dictated by the diagnosis and “sympathetic connections.” Dry needling is solely applied to improve mobility and relieve discomfort.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), acupuncture is a suitable treatment for a wide range of ailments, including addiction and pain. Acupuncture and dry needling are usually administered in conjunction with many other complementary treatments as part of a treatment plan.

Dry needling may be helpful if you have tight, stiff muscles or joints that are limited in their range of motion and functionality.

Trigger point dry needling: Does it hurt?

You might or might not feel the needle being inserted. To get the desired local twitch response, the specific needle manipulation may result in a brief (less than a second) unpleasant reaction that some patients may experience as a sharp pain or cramp. Again, elicitation of the local twitch response results in a positive, therapeutic impact.

In what ways can I get ready for my therapy?

Wear loose, comfortable clothing that can be pulled up or down to make it easier to reach your areas of concern, and eat a light meal one to two hours before your appointment.

What may I anticipate following treatment?

Even in the first session, we want to see changes including a better range of motion, easier mobility, and fewer symptoms.

Following treatment, many patients feel soreness in both the treated location and the place where symptoms were directed. There is sometimes bruising, and the discomfort usually lasts a few hours to two days. Applying heat or ice to the affected area and stretching the targeted muscle might help reduce soreness.

FAQs

References

• Julien-Laferriere, C. (2020, February 10). Trigger Points Dry Needling – PHYSIO FOR ALL. PHYSIO FOR ALL. https://physio4all.com/trigger-points-dry-needling/
• Basics of Trigger Point Dry Needling. (2023, April 24). Rose Physical Therapy Group. https://rosept.com/blog/basics-trigger-point-dry-needling
• Trigger Point Dry Needling (TDN) — Active Spine & Sport Therapy | Fort Worth | Sports Medicine, Chiropractic. (n.d.). Active Spine & Sport Therapy | Fort Worth | Sports Medicine, Chiropractic. https://www.activespineandsport.com/trigger-point-dry-needling-tdn
• Unlocking Pain Relief: The Benefits of Trigger Point Dry Needling – Highbar Physical Therapy. (n.d.). https://www.highbarhealth.com/blog/benefits-of-trigger-point-dry-needling