My physiotherapist: "You've got a knot, a trigger point in you calf muscle. Here let me stick a needle in it, that will make it feel better!"
Me: “Oh, you mean like acupuncture”? (I’ve had that done and there is no pain involved!)
My physiotherapist: “Oh no, acupuncture is for meridians. These needles go DEEP into the muscle!”
Can pain be eliminated by inserting needles into the offending muscle? photo credit:pixabay.com all others mine
The Old Dog Tries a New Treatment!
As I described in my article on Plantar Fasciitis my physiotherapist has been treating my entire leg and not just one point on my heel. He introduced me to a new treatment called Dry Needling and for some crazy reason I agreed to let him do it to me! I guess I just didn't want to think of me as a scaredy-cat!
Questions About Dry Needling
- Why did he stick a needle into my leg?
- What is Dry Needling?
- What does it feel like?
- What are the benefits?
- Are there any dangers?
Why Did He Stick A Needle Into My Leg?
You know the feeling. Someone pushes down on a certain muscle and the pain is unbearable. For example, if someone pinches the muscle between your neck and your shoulder it can buckle your knees. Right? Squeezing the flesh between your thumb and your index finger will often result in throwing you into “convulsions”. Correct? Those are typical trigger points.
While doing shock wave therapy on my calf the physiotherapist said that the knots (trigger points) in my calf were too severe to be helped by that therapy. He then proceeded to explain to me that the most effective thing to do would be to insert a needle into the muscle and that this would release the knot! He told me that it was called Dry Needling!
Here is my physiotherapist's torture kit! I mean dry needling kit.
What is Dry Needling?
In dry needling a needle is inserted into the skin and muscle directly at a myofascial trigger point. Myofacial trigger points are made up of multiple contraction knots that produce pain.
When done properly the insertion of the needle will cause a local twitch response (LTR) in which the taut muscle fibers contract and the final outcome should be the elimination of the knot and therefore also the pain!
What Does it Feel Like?
The insertion of the needle can be painful but if done properly it should not cause much discomfort. My therapist pushed down on the muscles of my calf until he found the most painful area and he inserted the needle there. Once the needle was in he would probe and move it round until it caused a twitch response.
I must say that the probing was very weird and uncomfortable and it caused me to sweat profusely. The twitch is quite painful and similar to the feeling you get when there is the onset of a cramp. As he kept moving the needle around and provoking new twitches I couldn’t wait for the procedure to be over!
These are the needles that he "plunged" into my calf. I'm pretty brave don't you agree?
Here's a picture of my physiotherapist "abusing" I mean treating me. He took the picture for me!
What are the benefits?
I have now undergone the therapy three times on my calf muscles and I must say that now when the therapist does deep massage on my calf there is almost no trigger point pain any more. He has directed me to do stretching for a few minutes three times a day in order to help prevent their return.
Are There Any Dangers?
If not done properly by a trained a therapist there could be damage to blood vessels, nerves, muscles, bones, and internal organs caused by the incorrect direction, angle or depth of the insertion. Would that dissuade YOU from having it done?
Summary of The Treatment
I have now been "attacked", I mean treated with the needles a total of three times. It is definately not pleasant but overall, between the dry needling and the shock wave therapy my plantar fasciitis is pretty well gone! No pain no gain I guess!
Points to Ponder
- Have you ever been treated with dry needling?
- If yes, what were the results?
- Would you allow your therapist to try it on you?
I hope that you enjoyed this article on dry needling!
Until next time,
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