Have you recently started looking into the uses and benefits of Chinese medicine? Are you looking for pain relief that doesn’t involve a cocktail of prescription medication? Fortunately, if this is the case, several options should be considered.
One of the more effective Chinese medicines well worth considering is the acupuncture Brighton residents rely on for everything from back pain to dealing with ongoing migraines. Another treatment geared at muscle pain is dry needling. What is it and how does it differ from acupuncture?
Dry Needling Defined
Both dry needling and acupuncture involve using small needles to provide pain relief, which often makes it difficult for first-time patients to recognise the difference. However, the most significant difference is that acupuncture relieves pain by balancing the flow of energy, or qi, throughout your body, stimulating your body’s natural ability to heal.
Dry needling, on the other hand, takes a more myofascial approach by directly addressing pain in particular muscles and connective tissues. Sterile needles are inserted directly into inflamed or tensed muscle fibers. Simply put, dry needling aims to ease pain caused by muscle irritation.
The precise targeting of trigger points distinguishes dry needling from other physical therapies. By focusing on areas of muscular tension and dysfunction, practitioners address both the cause and symptoms of discomfort. This can be particularly helpful for athletes or individuals recovering from injuries, as it promotes mobility while speeding up recovery.
Many Benefits to Look Forward to
As with acupuncture, dry needling also has several top benefits that make it a viable option for extensive pain relief. We’ve compiled a list of the top ways that a few dry needling sessions may provide you with some much-needed pain relief.
1. Accelerates Your Body’s Natural Healing Processes
Ideally, healing is more effective and lasting if it’s encouraged naturally. With this in mind, dry needling has been designed to relax the muscles, reduce inflammation, and boost blood flow all of which will trigger a natural healing response.
This treatment also triggers signals in your body to improve nerve communication and release natural pain relievers such as endorphins. Since these endorphins act as analgesics, they reduce the perception of pain.
2. Increases Blood Circulation
The dry needling technique loosens stiff muscles which typically increases blood flow. When this happens, oxygen moves more effectively through your body. Fresh blood and oxygen also move the muscle’s waste back to the kidneys. This essentially leads to faster and more effective recovery times. Tissue health improves and there’s a general reduction in pain.
Enhanced circulation also prevents the buildup of lactic acid in muscles, a common cause of soreness after physical activity. Athletes and fitness enthusiasts frequently use dry needling to recover more quickly between workouts, ensuring they stay at peak performance.
3. Reduces Headaches and Migraines
One of the more common reasons people turn to traditional forms of Chinese medicine is to provide treatment for headaches and migraines. This is because it can be time-consuming to work your way through different pills and other commercial medicines to find relief. Stronger headache and migraine medications also contain high levels of paracetamol and codeine which can hurt your gut health.
Dry needling done on the necessary trigger points can help to soothe and relieve the tension that causes the headaches in the first place. Releasing this muscle tension will go a long way toward preventing headaches and easing the pressure that causes their severity.
4. Lowers Muscle Tension
Muscle tension can be caused by several factors and if not dealt with can create a sharp, stabbing pain every time you use the muscle. The most common causes of muscle tension include the following:
- Muscle injury from exercise or injury
- Inflammation
- Arthritis
- Prolonged periods of stress
With dry needling, tension in the muscle is released, allowing the muscle to start healing. Since the needles stimulate the muscles, these muscles twitch and contract, instantly increasing your range of motion and relieving the pain associated with using this muscle.
5. Provides Relief for Tendonitis
Another top reason to consider dry needling is the effect it has on tendonitis. Typically, tendonitis is the inflammation of the thick fibrous cords that attach muscle to bone. This situation happens to people who have jobs or hobbies that involve the same repetitive motions.
Tendons become overloaded and lead to tendinitis which causes the muscle to hurt when the movement is performed. In this instance, dry needling disrupts the chronic degenerative process which encourages more blood flow and fibroblastic proliferation. Essentially this means disrupting the tendon without using any physical movement. Muscles start feeling relaxed, reducing the pain and strain felt.
This makes it particularly beneficial for individuals with occupational injuries such as tennis elbow or carpal tunnel syndrome. These conditions often result from repetitive strain, and dry needling can reduce both the acute pain and the long-term stiffness associated with them.
6. Noticeable Relief
The amount of time it takes to experience relief from dry needling depends on various factors. These can include the following:
- Age
- Cause of the pain
- Severity level
With this in mind, some patients have reported feeling significantly better within 48 hours of the treatment. In more severe cases, the dry needling treatment needs to be repeated weekly for about three weeks to see a noticeable difference. Some patients suffer from chronic pain and opt for more frequent sessions.
Final Thoughts
With a clearer understanding of what dry needling is, as well as a few of the major benefits associated with it, it may be worth considering. Not only will dry needling help reduce pain and muscle soreness, but it can also boost your body’s natural ability to heal on its own. It’s a holistic solution that complements other physical therapies and offers long-term results without relying on pharmaceuticals. For chronic pain, it’s an effective addition to your pain management arsenal. Give it a try, you’ll feel better for it!
