Dry needling is a treatment plan commonly done by a chiropractor or physical therapist to help ease pain caused by injuries. It can also improve your range of motion. If you’re wondering why it is called “dry” needling, it is because no liquid is injected into the patient.
What is dry needling and how does it work?
Your physical therapist may recommend that you:
- Drink plenty of water. It’s important to stay hydrated in the days following dry needling treatment. ...
- Exercise. Stretch, work out and continue your activities — as long as your pain doesn’t return when you do. ...
- Massage your muscles. Massage is another trigger point therapy used by physical therapists. ...
What does dry needling feel like?
This way, he or she can evaluate the risks, specific to your case. Will dry needling hurt? As the muscle reacts to the needle, you may feel a little pain or discomfort. Trinh also describes a potential “electrical shock-type feeling” when it hits the trigger point.
Does dry needling relieve pain?
The researchers found that dry needling can be an effective means of pain relief when dealing with myofascial pain syndrome, or the presence of painful trigger points and muscles.
Is dry needling effective for low back pain?
[Conclusion] These results suggest that dry needling can be an effective treatment for reducing pain, number of trigger points, sensitivity, and kinesiophobia in patients with chronic low-back pain caused by lumbar disc hernia.

Do chiropractors use dry needling?
Across the country, both physical therapists and chiropractors may offer dry needling, a technique in which the practitioner inserts needles directly into a patient's muscle with the aim of triggering a twitch response in the muscle that is thought to lead to healing.
Why do chiropractors use needles?
In this technique, doctor uses sterile, fine needles to go deep into muscle tissue to stimulate the nerves in the muscle to release tension. Where manual adjustments typically focus on the skeletal system, these techniques can focus on the muscles – providing a true musculoskeletal treatment.
What are the benefits of dry needling?
Four benefits of dry needlingGet fast pain relief.Regain your range of motion.Accelerate your recovery.Improve chronic pain conditions.
Is dry needling painful?
Does dry needling hurt? The actual inserting of the needle does not hurt—these needles are very thin. Sometimes the muscle will twitch when you put it in, and it can feel sore if that happens. You usually will feel a little muscle ache or soreness for a day or two after that feels like you worked out that muscle.
What are the side effects of dry needling?
Side effects associated with dry needling include:Soreness during or after the procedure.Bleeding where the needles were inserted.Fainting.Fatigue.Skin bruising.
What happens when dry needling hits a nerve?
Cyr said dry needling releases muscle tension, by causing tight muscles to twitch – or cramp – and then relax. “When you get the twitch response,” she said, “science has shown that will change the biochemical makeup of that trigger point to make it much less irritable.”
How long does dry needling last?
Once the needle reaches the muscle, the twitch sensation feels more like a deep cramp and doesn't last long (15-30 seconds).
Does dry needling actually work?
Most of the existing research for dry needling supports the practice for relieving mild to moderate pain. In some studies, dry needling provided more relief than a placebo treatment. However, one study showed that dry needling is no more effective than stretching alone to relieve muscle pain.
How often should dry needling be done?
How many sessions of dry needling will I need? Results' dry needling patients average 2-3 sessions, and will not use more than 5-6 except in rare circumstances. Often we will use dry needling once or twice per week out of 2-3 visits.
Is dry needling better than massage?
Between-group comparisons showed that dry needling increased pain threshold significantly more than friction massage. There were no significant differences between groups in any other outcome variables. Dry needling and friction massage were equally effective in improving symptoms in patients with TTH.
Can dry needling damage muscles?
Some dry needling treatments involve repetitive and rapid needle insertions into myofascial trigger points. This type of treatment causes muscle injury and can also damage nerve fibers.
Does dry needling help back pain?
Dry needling is an effective back pain treatment that improves pain control, reduces muscle tension, and improves how nerve impulses are transmitted to muscles.
What is dry needling?
Healthline explains that dry needling, which is the art of inserting fine, thin needles inserted at specific points , offers a couple of distinct natural, drugless benefits for sports injuries and chronic health conditions like fibromyalgia. The first is relief from pain and stiffness in the muscles.
What to ask before adding dry needling to a chiropractic practice?
1. The size of your potential client base. One of the first questions you want to ask yourself before adding dry needling to your chiropractic practice is whether you have a client base that is large enough to make offering this service worth the time and effort.
Is dry needling a complementary service?
If, based on your answers, you decide that dry needling would be a complementary service to your chiropractic practice, and that you’re willing to handle the logistics of incorporating it, here are a few tips that can potentially make its implementation more successful:
What Is the Difference Between Dry Needling and Acupuncture?
Dry needling is a treatment plan commonly done by a chiropractor or physical therapist to help ease pain caused by injuries. It can also improve your range of motion. If you’re wondering why it is called “dry” needling, it is because no liquid is injected into the patient. This is also called intramuscular manual therapy.
What Is a Trigger Point?
Dry needling is where professional practitioners will insert needles into a trigger point. Trigger points are muscles that are sore or those that are used with too much force or effort. This is also called a “knot”. If you feel that you have trigger points, you can consider getting a dry needling treatment.
What Are the Benefits of Dry Needling?
If you are hesitant about trying something new, we’ve listed a few of the benefits that you can get when you try dry needling.
What Are the Dry Needling Techniques?
There are two techniques used in dry needling. Professionals will guide you and tell you what would be the best method for you.
A review of how dry needling can help patients
Dry needling has a variety of different purposes. However, most notably, it is recommended to patients who have muscle pain, swelling, and stiffness. The following is an overview of the benefits dry needling offers and the specific types of conditions it can treat, along with insights into what kind of results you can expect from this treatment.
Talk to our team about dry needling treatment
Connect with our office today if you are interested in learning more about dry needling. Although studies are still ongoing to prove its effectiveness, many of our patients attest to finding pain and other symptom relief through treatment. We take pride in helping all of our patients, and we tailor treatment based on your individual needs.
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How does dry needling help?
Dry needling can effectively reduce pain and help you return to full mobility and strength. We tailor all our treatment to each individual patient, so if you’d like to find out if dry needling is suitable for your condition please call (225) 766-2952 today to discover how we can help.
Does Sonnier Chiropractic do dry needling?
In dry needling, chiropractor Baton Rouge may have found the solution to pain management and healing that does not require the use of medication. Sonnier Chiropractic provide dry needling therapy that is safe and effective and has no side effects.
Is dry needling effective?
Dry needling is an effective treatment, but you may not know what to expect if you haven’t had the treatment before. Prior to beginning the treatment, we’ll explain the whole process to you so there won’t be any surprises.

Dry Needling Benefits
- Healthline explains that dry needling, which is the art of inserting fine, thin needles inserted at specific points, offers a couple of distinct natural, drugless benefits for sports injuries and chronic health conditions like fibromyalgia. The first is relief from pain and stiffness in the muscles. This is supported by research as, according to on...
The Size of Your Potential Client Base
- One of the first questions you want to ask yourself before adding dry needling to your chiropractic practice is whether you have a client base that is large enough to make offering this service worth the time and effort. If you’re not sure, ask your current clientele whether they’d participate in dry needling if you were to offer it. You may also want to check with other dry needling providers in y…
Your Ability to Provide The Service
- Another factor to consider is your ability to provide the service. Specifically, do you have the expertise and training necessary to provide dry needling to your clients? If not, are you willing to obtain the training or would you have to hire someone else to provide it? If you have to hire someone else to offer this particular service, this requires also thinking about: 1. How much busi…
Logistical Implementation Issues
- A third factor to consider before deciding to implement dry needling is how it would work for your practice logistically. For instance, would you need a treatment room that is solely used for dry needling services or could you use one of your current adjustment rooms? Also, how would you schedule dry needling patients, especially the ones who want chiropractic services too? Would y…
Implementation Tips
- If, based on your answers, you decide that dry needling would be a complementary service to your chiropractic practice, and that you’re willing to handle the logistics of incorporating it, here are a few tips that can potentially make its implementation more successful: 1. Market your new dry needling services so that your current and prospective patients know that you now offer it. Do th…