What is Dry Needling & Does It Work?

Health & Wellbeing

Rachel Longchar

Tuesday, 08 March 2022

Dry needling is a much-misunderstood form of treatment. So, what is dry needling, and does it work? We thought we'd try to answer those questions.

Dry needling is a treatment technique used by osteopaths to treat muscle pain, and joint and tendon dysfunction. This treatment technique uses fine filament needles to release tension caused by taut bands of muscles (otherwise known as trigger points or knots), and overactive motor points that can elicit a local twitch response.

What Are The Benefits of Dry Needling?

Dry needling may help to reduce pain caused by active trigger points, and improve joint mobility and muscle flexibility. The twitch response can also encourage physiological changes that relax these hypersensitive areas and can play a role in reducing muscle tension and spasm.

What is Dry Needling Good For?

Dry needling techniques can assist in treating a wide range of musculoskeletal conditions such as:
• Sports injuries
• Acute and chronic tendonitis
• Shoulder pain
• Jaw pain
• Headaches and migraines
• Persistent pain conditions
• Back pain
• Repetitive strain injuries
• Hip, knee and foot pain
• Pelvic pain
• Post-traumatic injuries
• Whiplash

At Without Limits Health, all our Southbank Osteopaths have completed further training in dry needling, and use it as an adjunctive therapy to complement their osteopathic techniques. If you’re interested in trying this treatment modality don’t hesitate to ask your osteopath at your next appointment.

Travell, J. G., & Simons, D. (2018). Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The trigger point manual (3rd ed.). Lippincott Williams and Wilkins

About the author

Rachel Longchar

Rachel has a strong interest in health and wellbeing and loves learning about the human body. In addition to being an osteopath, she also holds a Master of Public Health and has extensive experience working in community health, mental health and health promotion.