Dry Needling
Trigger Point Therapy Newcastle
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Acupuncture and Dry Needling
Acupuncture is based on Eastern Medicine and follows the philosophy of stimulating meridians that help to create balance within bodily systems. With acupuncture, the needles aim to target acupoints to unblock these meridians to return the body’s balance.
A trigger point is a specific area of muscle that is taut and hyperirritable that can cause both discomfort and dysfunction. Trigger points are usually caused by overuse, muscle injury or stress. Dry needling is one of many techniques aimed at trigger points to reduce pain, restore muscle function, and promote normal tissue healing by eliciting a local twitch response (LTR) in a muscle.
Dry needling differs from acupuncture in a number of ways. Although they use the same type of needle and insert it into the skin, the main difference between them lies in their treatment principles.
Dry needling is a Western Medicine technique that follows principles of anatomy and physiology to elicit a therapeutic response such as an LTR. Sometimes combining these treatment techniques can provide the benefits of both. The exact mechanisms of dry needling are complex and not fully known.
However, there is a growing body of scientific evidence that suggests stimulating a LTR causes both a chemical and electrical response to reduce pain and promote function, as well as a localised mechanical response within the muscle promoting tissue healing.