Dry Needling
Myofascial dry needling therapy is a fast growing technique for treating muscle pain through the insertion of the needles in the soft tissues of your body such as the tendons, ligaments, muscle, and fascia. Some people also call this technique “biomedical acupuncture” and we use the same acupuncture needles as traditional Chinese medicine acupuncturists, which is why it is often mistaken as acupuncture.
What is this therapy excellent for treating?
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For treating chronic pains in your muscles due to tightness or spasms. Just like massage therapy, dry needling therapy aims to improve the circulation of the blood into the soft tissues of your body that cause tightness to relieve pain. The dry needling Sydney technique uses disposable high grade surgical steel dry needles that are very fine (usually 0.22mm to 0.3mm thickness) which is why this technique requires excellent mastery and precision so that it can be greatly effective.
Then, those needles are inserted in the areas of your body that are called “trigger points”. Trigger point dry needling in Sydney is also known as intramuscular stimulation. This technique is only done for a short time depending on your therapist. Then, the needles will treat the tightness or knotted muscles which causes various kinds of pain, like back pain, shoulder pain, lower back pain and neck pain.
The Science Behind Dry Needling Therapy
If you think that dry needling technique just relies on some magic stuff to happen for it to become effective, then you are wrong. The dry needling technique in Australia is a well-known therapy that already had lots of relieved patients. But more than that, there is actually a scientific explanation as to how this therapy can be effective for many different kinds of pains and conditions.
kham Hills, Hurstville, Surry Hills and Randwick.
How does Dry Needling work?
Dry needling therapy works by creating a cut in your body, which then initiates a physiological process of healing or repairing damaged or injured soft tissues in your body. Then, that damaged tissue will be replaced with a new and fresh soft tissue of the same kind. Basically, this technique works by telling your body to fix itself naturally, thereby reducing the pain that you are feeling once recovered (people can feel sore 1-3 days post needling in the recovery). There are totally no medications that this therapy uses or injected into your body. This whole process is natural and harmless.
Does Dry Needling Therapy Hurt?
Another probable question that you might be thinking about is if the dry needling technique hurt. To be honest, there is a possibility that you might feel the needle being inserted into a certain part of your body. Most of the time, you cannot even totally feel anything at all. It heavily depends on which part of the body the needle will be inserted. Eg. calves tend to be quite sensitive.
What happen during a Dry needle Therapy Session
Moreover, during the dry needle therapy session, the insertion and manipulation of the needles by the therapist might trigger some response in your trigger points. Those responses can be twitches, dull heavy aches, discomfort, and short term cramping. However, those responses should only last for a short period of time.
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What Issues can the Dry Needling Technique Treat?
If you are not sure if the dry needling technique can treat your certain body issue, it is important to make sure that you consult your doctor first and check if dry needling therapy would be a beneficial treatment for your condition. However, here are some of the common types of conditions where the dry needling technique can be helpful:
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Jaw pain (TMJ)
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Hand/wrist pain
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Hip pain
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Neck pain
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Shoulder impingement
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Muscle spasms/muscle pain
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Chronic pain
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Elbow pain
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Ankle pain
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Knee pain
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Back pain
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Tendinitis
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Headaches
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Cramping sensation
These are just some of the conditions where this technique can help. If you have ever experienced any types of pain above and you’ve already tried several treatments, the dry needling technique might just be the right treatment for your pain relief.
Health Benefits of Using Dry Needling Technique
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Improves your body’s range of motion.
This benefit is probably more helpful for the athletes because improving the range of your motion will help you avoid the risks of injuring yourself especially if you’re doing physically intensive activities like sports.
2. Boosts the time of your recovery from an injury.
When suffering from an injury, one of the most important yet frustrating parts is the recovery phase. This phase will require you to do so many things and take you a long time before you can fully recover and get back to doing the physical activities that you have been doing before. Even if you’re not an athlete, there can be injuries where it will take you some time to fully recover. That is why the dry needling technique is very helpful so you can recover from injuries quickly and also reduce the risk of reaggravating or getting an injury.
3. Pain relief and myofascial release
As mentioned numerous times before, this is the most common health benefit that you can get when you try taking a dry needling technique in Sydney. This works by focusing on the trigger points of your body, then releasing the tightness, tension, or inflammation in your myofascial tissues/muscles.
How is it Different From Acupuncture?
So how is it any different from the typical acupuncture technique? It is true that they both use thin stainless needles that are inserted into the body, but they still have certain differences. First, they are based on different anatomy and medicine study. Acupuncture is Chinese-based while the dry needling treatment is western-based.
With traditional chinese medicine (TCM) acupuncture, the approach is to unblock chi (energy) pathways following the meridian paths. Dry needling is an evidence-based technique, focused on the issues and conditions of the musculoskeletal system so it can’t be used in some conditions where acupuncture can be used.
The goal with Dry needling Therapy
The aim is to generate a twitch response and or some sort of relaxation in your trigger points. The twitch response is a signal that the knotted/tight muscles are starting to release, so the therapist would continue manipulating the dry needle until there are no more twitch responses from the trigger points.
Also, those twitch responses can be a signal of referred pain, which means that the issue is different from the area of pain. It could be a different area of tissue or nerve that causes the pain, so the therapist will adjust the approach of the technique accordingly.
Dry Needling Or Acupuncture?
Despite the differences, both the acupuncture and dry needling technique can be helpful in some orthopedic instances such as osteoarthritis. However, you might be thinking about which one is better? In that case, a non-trigger point dry needle therapy would be more helpful and beneficial. As mentioned above, that technique focuses on a greater nerve or muscle which causes the pain.
A study in 2014 actually found that using a non-trigger point dry needling technique (targeting areas close by and further from the trigger points) is actually more effective in reducing the sensitivity and pain in the trigger points rather than using the trigger point technique of dry needling.
Acupuncture
In comparison, acupuncture therapy is based on the concept of “meridian lines'' which represent the placing of organs in your body. Then, the needles will be placed/inserted along those lines for about 15 to 30 minutes which supposedly would restore the flow and balance of energy in your body. This technique is believed to be a treatment for several conditions like insomnia, chronic pain, stress, fertility issues, allergies, and so on.
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Where to Find a Dry Needling Therapist?
If you are planning to take dry needling therapy in Sydney, Australia, it is important to make sure that your therapist is really qualified to perform the technique. Make sure to contact an expert like Mojotherapy, so you can be provided with an expert response with your inquiries about the dry needling technique.
Looking for Dry Needling near me? What locations do you service?
We are based in Ashfield and typically service clients from the following areas;
Suburbs inner west: Annandale, Ashfield, Ashbury, Camperdown, Canterbury, Croydon, Croydon Park, Concord, Canada Bay, Dulwich Hill, Enmore, Five Dock, Haberfield, Hurlstone Park, Lewisham, Leichhardt, Lilyfield, Marrickville, Newtown, Petersham, Stanmore, Summer Hill, St Peters, Sydenham, Tempe.
Though we have had clients as far as Parramatta, Baulkham Hills, Hurstville, Surry Hills and Randwick.