Maybe you’ve heard of Dry Needling being used to treat pain in therapy. Perhaps you even wondered whether dry needling could help you and your painful situation. We can talk about theories and approaches to using Dry Needling to treat certain conditions. But, you till want to know the answer to this question: How does dry needling help reduce pain?
In this article, we discuss two main mechanisms through which dry needling can help reduce pain.
How Does Dry Needling Help Reduce Pain?
There are two processes at play when using dry needling to treat pain, mechanical and neurological. We also refer to these as the physiological (or physical) effects and neurological effects. Let’s dive into each below.
Process 1: Physiological (Physical) Effects
Now, when you insert a needle into the affected tissue, whether it be a muscle in the jaw or in the leg, there are going to be real, physical changes that take place in the tissue. For example, some studies show acute muscle inflammation after dry needling treatment [1]. That being said, Dry Needling has been show to reduce muscle stiffness, improve circulation, and reduce pressure pain in latent trigger points [1]. Dry needling has also been shown to cause a local twitch response in the muscle being needled [2].
Inserting a needle in the right place can lead to:
- Improved circulation
- Sometimes a muscle twitch response leading to a reduction in tightness
- Improved range of motion
- A jump starts or restart of the healing process
All of these effects drive the use of Dry Needling in most clinics. But, as we describe below, dry needling also causes neurological changes, or changes to the nervous system.
Process 2: Neurological Effects
Inserting a needle into specific areas of the body can increase parasympathetic regulation. What is that? It is your rest and digest system. Unfortunately, this system is usually overshadowed by our sympathetic system, AKA our fight or flight system. This sympathetic overload leads to increased pain, anxiety, depression, poor sleep, poor healing, and many other problems. Many people experiencing pain, especially chronic pain, live in a chronic state of fight or flight.
Research has shown that Dry Needling results in a significant initial increase of sympathetic nervous system activity. After approximately 21 minutes, nervous system activity returned to more normal levels [3].
When we use needling to increase parasympathetic activation, we are able to:
- Decrease chronic pain
- Decrease inflammation
- Improve sleep quality
- Reduce anxiety
- Reduce depression
- And help the body heal as it was intended to
In fact, research suggests that dry needling has a central effect on patients beyond the local (mechanical) tissue effects. This reduces a patient’s pain and disability levels by affecting neural processing and other central nervous system effects [4].
Most therapists who use dry needling aim to utilize process 1 only. This can be helpful, but at ProActive we aim to needle with both processes in mind and take a more holistic approach to health and healing.
Summary
Dry needling treatment has both physical and neurological effects to areas experiencing pain. By taking a more holistic approach to treatment, including dry needling treatment, we’re able to address multiple underlying factors of pain. It’s not just about the dry needling. It also must include exercise, breathing, neuromuscular retraining, and the like. We describe this approach a bit in an article which describes our 4-phase rehab framework.
If you are still unsure whether needling is for you, contact the clinic to have your questions answered or book an evaluation online.
References
[1] J. Sánchez-Infante, A. Bravo-Sánchez, F. Jiménez, J. Abián-Vicén. Effects of dry needling on mechanical and contractile properties of the upper trapezius with latent myofascial trigger points: A randomized controlled trial. Musculoskeletal Science and Practice, Volume 56, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msksp.2021.102456.
[2] Carolina Jiménez-Sánchez, Julio Gómez-Soriano, Elisabeth Bravo-Esteban, Orlando Mayoral-del Moral, Pablo Herrero-Gállego, Diego Serrano-Muñoz, María Ortiz-Lucas. Effects of Dry Needling on Biomechanical Properties of the Myofascial Trigger Points Measured by Myotonometry: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, Volume 44, Issue 6, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmpt.2021.06.002.
[3] (2021) Time effect for in-situ dry needling on the autonomic nervous system, a pilot study, Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, 37:7, 826-834, DOI: 10.1080/09593985.2019.1644691
[4] (2022) Functional connectivity patterns are altered by low back pain and cause different responses to sham and real dry needling therapies: a systematic review of fMRI studies, Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, DOI: 10.1080/09593985.2022.2155094
