Dry needling is starting to become more widely known among patients and also among doctors in recent years. About 15-20 years ago this treatment technique originated, so more and more people have already undergone it or heard about it. Dry needling is certainly not a panacea for all kinds of complaints, but when properly assessed as an indication, it certainly has a very good positive effect. In any case, it is a technique that often gives immediate reduction of symptoms after the first treatment.
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Dry needling for muscle relaxation
The dry needling physio has obviously gone through additional training to be allowed to work with this technique. By a properly trained person, this is a very safe technique. The dry needling physio can treat many regions of the body, such as the lower back or, for example, complaints in the legs. Dry needling shoulder and dry needling neck are certainly also commonly used regions when complaints arise there.
During treatment, the dry needling physio can resolve excessive muscle tension through the use of dry needling. This treatment affects the relaxation of trigger points. These trigger points can be caused by overuse or poor posture, for example. A small nerve can be disturbed by this and keep that part of the muscle in constant tension. We call this a trigger point. Where previously the choice was made to relax the muscle by for example massage, the dry needling physio can treat with dry needling.
Dry needling for shoulder and neck pain
Dry needling shoulder often involves treating the trapezius muscle that runs to the neck, but the muscle on the shoulder blade is also a muscle that is often tense and responds well to dry needling shoulder. You often see these muscles overly tense in people who work a lot at a computer. Also in people who are just very active in overhead sports, like CrossFit or volleyball for example, we regularly see overuse complaints.
The shoulder muscles, especially the muscle on the shoulder blade, can also cause radiating symptoms in the arm. We call this referred pain. This often feels like a dull, languid pain. Very different from the intense and painful radiation that people with a neck hernia have. If the dry needling physio decides to dry needle shoulder then the specific trigger points are treated that are responsible for the radiating pain.
Dry needling neck is also widely used for neck pain and headaches, for example. The trigger points in the neck can obviously cause tension in the neck, but as dry needling physio we often see that these trigger points are responsible for headaches. Dry needling neck can be very effective for persistent neck pain and headaches and is for example often used in combination with manual therapy for the neck.
Headaches can have multiple causes, including causes that cannot be resolved with physical therapy. However, headaches caused by a blockage in a joint high up in the neck and/or by a tense muscle high up in the neck can be treated by a physical therapist. So in addition to resolving the blockage in the neck, often by a manual therapist, dry needling neck can also be applied. As a result, neck pain and headaches are often reduced immediately.
If you have any questions about dry needling neck or dry needling shoulder please contact us!
