Dry Needling

Find Out How Dry Needling Can Provide Release and Relief

Dry Needling

Here at Adaptive Myotherapy, dry needling, delivered as part of a holistic and individualised myotherapy treatment plan, can help.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

  • Back pain
  • Neck and shoulder pain
  • Headache
  • Sports injuries
  • Rotator cuff problems
  • Occupational injuries
  • Achilles tendinopathy and other ankle injuries
  • Jaw pain and clicking
  • Fibromyalgia and other chronic pain presentations
  • Tennis elbow

What Is Dry Needling?

A treatment technique that has been adapted from acupuncture, dry needling is the use of very fine needles that are inserted to deactivate or desensitise myofascial trigger points, providing pain relief.

Sometimes known as myofascial trigger point dry needling, the treatment uses either acupuncture needles, which are also called solid filiform needles, or hollow-core hypodermic needles.

The name “dry needling” comes from the fact that nothing is injected into the body, unlike “injection needling” where the hypodermic needle is used to introduce something into the body. The use of acupuncture needles has also resulted in dry needling being increasingly known as clinical or Western acupuncture.

How Does Dry Needling Work?

Dry needling is backed up by a growing body of scientific evidence that supports the positive effects that inserting a needle has on the electrical and chemical communications that take place in our nervous system.

It is believed that dry needling can assist in inhibiting the transmission of pain signals in our spinal cord and increasing the release of our own pain relieving chemicals within our brains. The benefit of this is a pain relieving effect that is fast gaining popularity in Western medicine.

Does Dry Needling Hurt?

Dry needling does not hurt. The insertion of the needles is generally not felt, although the local twitch response or sudden slight contraction of the muscle may provoke a very brief pain response that has been described as an electric shock or cramping sensation.

This then triggers a good therapeutic response, and patients commonly experience heaviness in the limbs or a pleasant feeling of relaxation. Following treatment, some muscle soreness may be felt up to 48 hours depending on the dry needling technique that is used.

What Is The Difference Between Dry Needling And Acupuncture?

Generally, dry needling is based on Western anatomical and neurophysiological principles, whereas acupuncture is based on the principles and techniques of Traditional Chinese Medicine. However, even though dry needling is aligned with modern medical science and research, the positive effects in pain relief is similar to that of acupuncture.

Dry Needling At Adaptive Myotherapy

At Adaptive Myotherapy, dry needling is one of our specialties. Frequently used in conjunction with massage therapy, our myotherapist will draw upon this and other evidence based treatment approaches and skillsets, for instance cupping, as part of your treatment. In addition, you may also be advised on exercise, pain management, load management and lifestyle or activity modification.

Our Qualifications

Similar to physiotherapists, osteopaths and chiropractors, myotherapists have their own distinct qualifications, specifically the BHSc (Clinical Myotherapy), BHSc (Myotherapy) and AdvDip (Myotherapy), which qualify practitioners to undertake evidence based assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of patients experiencing musculoskeletal pain and associated conditions.

Dry Needling therapist Richmond

Why Choose Adaptive Myotherapy

Here at Adaptive Myotherapy, we focus on a holistic approach. Our clients’ health and wellbeing come first, which is why we adapt with you and your needs to create an individualised treatment plan that your body will respond to. If we can’t help you, we will find someone else who can.

We are thorough in our dry needling treatments, committed to your health (and ours), and are fun loving and relaxed too! We take pride in our attention to detail and extremely high level of support and care, whether in creating a more relaxed environment for our clients or following up on each of them.

Our clients come from all across Melbourne, particularly Richmond, Abbotsford, Collingwood and Cremorne. We also believe that we are just that little bit more caring than your regular myotherapist, but don’t just take our word for it, come and try our dry needling treatments for yourself. We offer other treatments such as pregnancy myotherapy, cupping therapy, pregnancy massage, deep tissue massage and remedial massage.  Contact us today for a free trial or more info.