Dry Needling is used to release a myofascial trigger point.
“A myofascial trigger point is defined as a hyperirritable spot in the skeletal muscle that is associated with a hypersensitive palpable nodule in a taut band” (Simons, Travell, & Simons, 1999).
Needling a trigger point will:
- Causes a local twitch response, resulting in reduced electrical activity.
- Causes a decrease in CGRP and substance P which correlates to reduced pain and tenderness.
- Can stimulate collagen and protein formation thus promoting healing.
At SIM Physiotherapy our physiotherapists are trained in a variety of soft tissue and manual techniques. Soft tissues in our bodies will often restrict our joints ability to move or the muscles ability to produce force. This is likely due to pain from an injury or the body attempting to protect itself. Soft tissue massage, dry needling, trigger pointing and manual techniques can help alleviate these protective mechanisms.
We place a strong emphasis on our ability to alleviate this pain through these manual techniques and then correcting the dysfunction with prescribing the correct exercises.
