What is Dry Needling?

• Dry Needling is a skilled intervention performed by a physical therapist (PT), that uses a thin filiform needle to penetrate the skin and stimulate underlying neural, muscular, and connective tissues for the management of neuromusculoskeletal pain and movement impairments.

How does Dry Needling work to decrease pain?

• Dry Needling increases blood supply to promote healing, increases intrinsic (endogenous) opioid production for pain reduction, and resets the nervous system’s pain interpretation.

Is Dry Needling the same as acupuncture?

• Short answer - no. While the same type of needle is used, acupuncture targets acupoints to address energy flows based on traditional Chinese medicine. Dry Needling targets painful areas in muscles and joints to address pain based on modern Western medicine. 

What conditions does Dry Needling help?

• You name it! From achy or painful joints and muscles (think low back pain, knee pain, tennis elbow, shoulder pain…) to concussions to headaches to vertigo. 

Does Dry Needling hurt?

• The initial poke has a sting to it just as you would expect. Because it is such a small needle, the pain can be very minimal after just a few seconds. Sometimes you may not even feel it after a few seconds. For some patients, it can even be relaxing or feel good. 

How does Dry Needling fit into a physical therapy plan of care?

• Dry Needling is a great tool for addressing pain. While we’d love it to be a silver bullet, you’ve still got to address the cause. That means if there are deficits in your motion, tissue, and strength, these have to be addressed. Dry Needling is another tool for getting you out of pain and where you want to be!

How do I sign up?

• We were hoping you would ask! Just give us a call (509-808-7974) and we’ll chat with you about what you have going on to make sure Dry Needling would be appropriate for you. Talk to you soon!