Musculoskeletal Dry Needling

If you’ve ever had someone press into a muscle knot before, you’ll recognise them as sore, tight points in a muscle. These points can form after an injury (active trigger point) or from overuse of a muscle (latent trigger point). Trigger points form when an excessive concentration of Acetylcholine leads to prolonged and unnecessary muscle activation in a select portion of muscle fibres. This hyperactivity, caused by excessive activation, results in a tight, sensitive band or ‘knot’ forming.

If you’ve ever had someone press into a muscle knot before, you’ll recognise them as sore, tight points in a muscle. These points can form after an injury (active trigger point) or from overuse of a muscle (latent trigger point). Trigger points form when an excessive concentration of Acetylcholine leads to prolonged and unnecessary muscle activation in a select portion of muscle fibres. This hyperactivity, caused by excessive activation, results in a tight, sensitive band or ‘knot’ forming.

Dry Needling involves inserting a sterile, thin needle into the muscle knot, which helps create a local twitch response. This twitching is largely non-painful, and it helps to reduce inflammation, increase blood flow and ‘reset’ the chemical levels within the affected muscle fibres, ultimately relaxing the muscle and working to reduce pain and improve function.

Other uses of Dry Needling include dermal or skin-deep needling. This is a critical part of treatment, which stimulates the circulatory system to alleviate swelling from an acutely injured or swollen area by promoting blood flow to the damaged tissues. This, in turn, triggers a healing response that allows for a more efficient recovery. This application is not as deep as the trigger point therapy method, and is used in cases such as rolled ankles and other joint-related injuries.

The needles are single-use and immediately disposed of in safe, contained sharps bins. Before a needle is inserted, alcohol disinfectant wipes are applied to clean the skin and surrounding areas to prevent contamination. All of our practitioners wear sterile, single-use gloves and are certified in safe dry needling. After the needles are withdrawn, alcohol swabs are again applied as a second measure.