Dry Needling

Introduction- Dry needling is a specific clinical technique for musculoskeletal pain and human movement dysfunction.

PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS

1. Local: puncturing skin then physically stretching the tissue creating a lesion in the soft tissue. When needle is removed, the lesion remains for a few days – this process provides physical and biomechanical stimuli. The lesion induced process activates physiologic mechanisms of remodeling the tissue around the needling site.
2. Systemic: each needling process is invasive and creates both local and systemic effects-the restoration of both local tissue homeostasis (tissue remodeling of injured tissue) and systemic homeostasis. Restoration of systemic homeostasis involves reducing both physical and physiological stress. Physical stress means muscular, which creates biomechanical imbalances such as joint and posture imbalance. Physiologic stress may include local physiological dysfunction (inflammation, tissue ischemia, etc.) and all body systems like immune, cardiovascular, endocrine, and all others. Simple insertions of an invasive needle create both local and systemic therapeutic effects.

INDICATIONS

1. Muscle pain
2. Stiffness in joints
3. Weakness
4. Spasticity