Dry Trigger Needle Point Therapy: Curing Muscle Pain Without Pain Killers

Are you suffering from myofascial pain syndrome? Tired of popping painkillers like they were candy? Isn’t it frustrating that when you apply pressure on one part of your body, you feel pain somewhere else completely. You feel there is something deeply wrong with you but it’s hard knowing what to do. Well, dry needle trigger point therapy might be the answer.

What is Dry Needle Trigger Point Therapy

Now you might be wondering what dry needle trigger point therapy actually is. It is a technique that uses the trigger points in your body to help control myofascial syndrome. A needle known as filiform is inserted into the skin all the way into the muscle to the trigger point which may be causing the pain in other parts of the body. Hence the name trigger point therapy.

Our bodies have soft tissue known as fascia. This tissue covers our muscles and is known as Myo Fascia. Sometimes due to overuse or misuse and trauma, we can tear these soft tissues. When they come together again in course of movement they case pain. Trigger points are those areas of the fascia that have stuck together. They can make it difficult for you to work or move. The most common areas for this are the neck, legs, arms and back.

There are many trigger point therapies that can help relieve the tension and tightness in the muscles to reduce the pain making it easier to move. Let’s take a look at the two most popular ones.

Trigger Point Massage

If you have a fear of needles, then you might not feel too comfortable with dry needle trigger point therapy. You may want to try a different trigger point therapy. Rather than using needles, you can opt for a massage that focuses on trigger point areas to help relieve the stress felt in the fascia.

The masseur goes through cycles where pressure is applied to the area of pain before releasing it and moving onto other trigger points. This allow the muscles to relax and reduces tightening and pain.

With trigger point massage therapy you can actually get more relief from doing the massage yourself. There are a couple of benefits with self-massage. One is that you are more aware of where the pain starts, and what point actually triggers the pain. This allows you to identify the trigger point quicker.

The second is the cost factor. Going to a professional massage therapist can be quite expensive. Self-massage is safe and cheaper, but this approach will depend on where you are feeling the pain. If you suffer from pain in your back, chances are you will not be able to massage locate or massage the trigger point yourself.

Dry Needle Trigger Point Therapy

Dry needle trigger point therapy is similar to acupuncture. As mentioned before it uses dry needles that are inserted into the tissue that is causing the pain. The needles that are used for dry needle trigger point therapy are thin that can quickly go through your skin and muscle without damaging the tissue or causing pain. The needle is pushed to the trigger point to help release the tightness, thus reducing the pain you feel. By reducing the pain, the movement that triggered pain in the past becomes easier.  

The treatment does take time and requires a professional with complete knowledge of the trigger points. Some of the trigger points are far more knotted requiring repeated treatment. The dry needle trigger point therapy technique uses the needle as a way of triggering the pain. The pain in most cases can be felt in your body close to the area of the trigger point. The goal is to use the dry needle to release the knotted tissue, reducing the pain you feel in the trigger area and the area around it.

Just because dry needle trigger point therapy doesn’t use medications does not mean there are no side effects. Dry needling can result in the formation of a local twitch response (LTR). This can be caused when the length of the muscle is changed by loosening it too much.

With that in mind, it is essential that when considering dry needle trigger point therapy, you work with a professional who is certified in this treatment. If dry needle trigger point therapy is done incorrectly, it can cause damage to the tissue and result in even more pain. In most cases though, dry needle trigger point therapy should cure you of all your aches and pains and help you lead a pain and medicine free life.

Found this interesting? Read about Neuromuscular Physical Therapy for more information on alternative pain killing techniques.