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Dry Needling Works Wonders for Tight Muscles

I was on that patient’s bed for a full 50 minutes this morning, lying flat on my stomach while squeezing a poor pillow to death, with my eyes shut tight for fear that I’d dash out the door once I saw those needles.  Either I’m crazy or I’m a masochist, I thought.  No one forced me to call my PT, Aspi, last night to schedule yet another intense dry needling session this morning.  But, here I was, ready to succumb to the pain because I knew it worked wonders for my shin splints before.  So, I told myself, No, you’re not crazy.  You’re just willing to do anything to run pain-free again.

According to this site, DRY NEEDLING ”utilises a solid, filament needle, as is used in the practice of acupuncture, and relies on the stimulation of specific reactions in the target tissue for its therapeutic effect.”  

Based on my experience with dry needling, a big needle is basically inserted directly into the target area (e.g., tight muscle or lump) and, if inserted at the perfect spot, the patient will feel a twitch or almost like an electric current pass through the body; that’s how you know the tight muscle was hit.  The needle is inserted one at a time into different areas that the therapist determines is tight.

This is definitely not acupuncture.  Acupuncture uses smaller needles, which cause little or no pain, and is inserted all at once in different parts of the body from head to toe.  The needles are left there for a good 30 minutes while one rests, or even sleeps in complete bliss.

In Moro Lorenzo Sports Center, Aspi is the only therapist I know who does dry needling.  When he left in June to finish his studies in Australia, I was in a state of panic.  I visited three other doctors who did acupuncture hoping that it would be similar to dry needling.  Nope, I didn’t find anyone who offered dry needling, much less heard of it in Metro Manila.  You can imagine my relief (okay, that’s an understatement because I was literally jumping for joy) when I heard that Aspi was back in town.  Better yet, he’s based here again!

So, back to my story…As I lay on the bed, Aspi poked at my left lower leg in search of the tight muscles around the shins and calves, which gave me minor problems during the past few runs.  As soon as he spotted tightness in the muscles, he’d count aloud “1…2…3″ and I’d feel the needle dig into my skin.  Most of the time, it would feel like an injection, just an ant bite, but others were slightly more painful, as in mahapdi.  Aspi would then move the needle from side to side waiting for that muscle to twitch.  How does this feel?  Uh, like nothing, only like someone is twisting and squeezing your muscles from the inside, which is why some PBA players have shed a tear or two during these sessions. If the muscles did twitch, Aspi would see the movement under my skin or feel it with his fingers on my leg, or he would just listen to me shout “Ouch!” and he would know it worked.  Then, he’d move to another area and do the same thing all over again.

Again, we did this for a full 50 minutes this morning.  It was painful, sweat-inducing, and tiring.  I could barely walk to the restroom or to the parking lot.  Now, my entire left calf is sore and painful.  But, I would do this again in an instant.  Why?  Because it’s what worked for me.  I predict that I’ll be back into my training program as soon as the soreness disappears.

NOTE:  I hope I didn’t scare you with my detailed account.  I wouldn’t have said it any other way as I don’t want to sugar-coat it or make it sound less painful than it really is (flashback of my pregnant self thinking that my baby’s delivery would be smooth and easy: NOT!  I wanted to ask my Mom, who gave birth to 7 kids, why didn’t you tell me?!)  

ANOTHER NOTE: While this may have worked for me, it may not work for you.  I think it’s the greatest secret of the universe, but my therapists say it’s not the antidote to all tight muscles.  Old-fashioned stretching, strengthening, and drills should be continued. 

Posted on 01.08.09 to 07 Therapy & Injury. Tags: , , , . Subscribe to follow comments on this post. 14 comments. Add your thoughts or trackback from your own site.

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14 Responses to “Dry Needling Works Wonders for Tight Muscles”

  1. Thanks, but no thanks, your detailed account convinced me that I should stick to stretching! :-)

    It’s painful but it’s worth it. Just something to fall back on if stretching and massages fail to loosen the tight muscles :)

    DATC said on Jan 08 09 at 6:25 PM Reply

  2. Hi Jaymie, I have a problematic tight hamstring. I’m still looking for a solution for this, I can’t seem to really solve it. :-(

    You only said ASPI found the specific tight muscle, but you didn’t mention what he did next. Did he cure it or not?

    i2runner, I went to aspi in June for my shin splints. He cured it instantly. Prior to that, I had gone through 3 weeks of therapy and massaging to no avail.

    As of now, I can’t tell if my minor shin pain is gone since my whole calf is still sore from the session yesterday. I’ll run tomorrow and find out soon enough.

    i2runner said on Jan 08 09 at 10:21 PM Reply

  3. If my PT were as cute as Aspi, why not? <3

    Ang landi!

    marga said on Jan 09 09 at 1:33 AM Reply

  4. Hi TBR,

    How much is the cost per session for dry needling?

    Thanks…

    P560

    ExFatRunner said on Jan 09 09 at 1:45 PM Reply

  5. I get a lot of dry needling too but it usually involves having a parent (or an over-enthusiastic friend) asking a staccato of questions on topics i am hesitant to talk about. No PT required for the torture! It’s still an ordeal but i suspect it’s nowhere near as painful as the one you went through…;-) Anyway, I hope your legs are well enough to enjoy some happy running this weekend.

    Hi Mesh, I don’t know. Maybe yours is just as painful :)

    mesh said on Jan 09 09 at 3:51 PM Reply

  6. Hi Jaymie, thanks for the insight. Parang gusto na ayaw ko yata i try to.

    Hahaha! Kung kailangan lang, taki!

    taki said on Jan 10 09 at 8:07 AM Reply

  7. I will start stretching religiously. Thanks for the push!

    Hahaha! You’re welcome Mark :)

    Mark P said on Jan 10 09 at 8:11 AM Reply

  8. Hi Jaymie….my gosh you are a MASOCHIST! But then again anything for the love of running! :-)

    See…only runners will understand what we’ll put ourselves through just to be able to run again :)

    mary715 said on Jan 11 09 at 9:14 PM Reply

  9. Found this blog while googling “Dry Needling.” I had it done for the first time yesterday, into my frozen shoulder muscles. It did not hurt a bit, only a tiny sting upon entry, a strange sensation of pulling as she twisted the needle, and then referred throbbing pain down my arm which stopped after a few hours. Today I feel amazing. Dry needling works!

    Krystal said on Nov 17 09 at 10:58 AM Reply

  10. per session is 560? cn i ask wer the clinic is? cn u recommend a clinic within QC area. mny tnx! cnt w8 to hear from u. God bless!

    yang said on Jun 21 10 at 10:43 AM Reply

  11. Hi i’m also doing dry needling myself for myofascial pain syndromes and more concentrated on treating low back pain and neck pan. I myself has a chronic low back pain for the past 10 years but when i tried the procedure it amazingly cured my pain…

    sam said on Jul 10 10 at 1:52 PM Reply

  12. This is Acupuncture people without the training!!!! The reason you feel the “electric” current is because the practitioner got lucky and actually hit an acupoint, NOT the middle of the tight muscle. These people get trained 1/100 of the time traditional Acupuncturists get trained and do not have knowledge to be needling people correctly. Want to heal yourself, stop using bastardized American treatments that don’t use the tradition or knowledge that was intended. If your body feels that kind of pain after a treatment THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG!!! Your body does not lie. See a trained professional with an Acupuncture degree not someone who had a weekend of training.

    Timothy LAc said on Nov 21 11 at 10:01 PM Reply

  13. The above comment is incorrect and anyone who does a little googling on dry needling and acupuncture can easily discover why. Dry needling is western medicine, acupuncture is oriental. Dry needling does not work on meridians used in acupuncture but instead works on what are known as trigger points – these are knots in muscles which are sort of locked in a permanent contraction through over-use, bad posture, stress etc. Read up on trigger points – you may find you can fix some of your own even with a tennis ball (ischemic pressure). I have had several sessions of dry needling for tight muscles that gave me back pain and since it works, I’ve continued to go back. My therapist is trained in BOTH acupuncture and dry needling but I only do the latter. If dry needling was a short-cut to acupuncture as the above comment asserts, why would he have bothered learning both? Dry needling works, there are abundant studies online that say so, and you will know whether or not it works after one session – you don’t need go several times and pay for several treatments to find out, just once. The twitch response described above is basically when the needle touches the junction between the nerve and the muscle. Moving the needle in the area ends the permanent contraction that muscle has been in, allows the muscle to return to its normal length and gives you the relief you feel. I haven’t found it that painful, I don’t usually feel the needle go in but when the needle hits on an angry trigger point it is like an electric shock. The area can hurt for a day after but gets better quickly. It’s a good idea to stretch muscles that have been dry needled after treatment so that the knots/trigger points don’t recur.

    Peter Murphy said on May 07 12 at 7:32 AM Reply

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