If you’ve been dealing with tight muscles, chronic tension, or pain that keeps coming back, dry needling might be a helpful addition to your care.
What is Dry Needling?
Dry needling uses a thin, sterile needle to release tight muscles and trigger points. Trigger points are often referred to as knots. By inserting the needle into these overactive areas, we can help:
- Break up muscle tension
- Increase circulation
- Reset how the muscle functions
It’s different from acupuncture. While acupuncture focuses on energy flow and is used to treat a wide range of conditions, dry needling is used specifically for musculoskeletal pain like neck and back tension, tension headaches, tendonitis, and more.
How It Works on the Nervous System
Pain and tightness send constant stress signals to your brain. Dry needling interrupts that cycle by introducing a new stimulus. This “surprise” to your system helps to drown out the pain signals, calm overly sensitive nerves, and in many cases causes the muscle to twitch and release. The result is improved mobility, reduced pain, and a fresh start for your muscles and nerves.
Why You Need to Move Afterward
Passive care like dry needling is great, but it works best when followed by stretching and strengthening. After treatment, we’ll guide you through simple movements to help retrain the muscle, improve range of motion, and support long-term results.
Other Passive Therapies We Offer or Recommend
We also use other tools to support healing, including:
- E-stim and Tens Units – Disrupts pain signals and promotes muscle activity.
- Therapeutic Ultrasound – Uses sound waves to create deep heat which in turn can stimulate circulation and tissue repair.
- Ice – Best for new injuries and inflammation. We may recommend you use ice after your first adjustment with us.
- Heat – Helps relax tight muscles, especially in chronic conditions.
These therapies can be added based on your condition and goals.
Where Chiropractic Fits In
When joints aren’t moving well, they also send poor signals to the brain. That’s where chiropractic care comes in, restoring proper motion and improving communication between your spine, brain, and muscles. If you’re not holding your adjustments well, dry needling can be a great addition to help you break the cycle of tension and get lasting relief.
Let’s Get You Feeling Better
If you’re curious about dry needling or other passive therapies, please reach out! We’ll create a care plan that helps your body reset and recover.