Dry Needling

Hampton PT therapists are among the very few in the region currently certified to perform Dry Needling. This is a treatment technique that uses small filament-type needles to release tight muscles with the goal of permanently reducing muscle pain and dysfunction.

This technique has been extremely beneficial for patients experiencing chronic tension headaches and has had many patients have complete elimination of their symptoms.

The aim of Dry Needling is to achieve a local twitch response to release muscle tension and pain. Dry needling is an effective treatment for chronic pain of neuropathic origin with very few side effects.

The needle used is very thin and most subjects do not even feel it penetrate the skin. A healthy muscle feels very little discomfort with the insertion of this needle. However, if the muscle is sensitive and shortened or has active trigger points within it, the subject will feel a sensation like a muscle cramp ‘the twitch response’.

The patient also may feel a reproduction of “their” pain which is a helpful diagnostic indicator for the practitioner attempting to diagnose the cause of the patients’ symptoms. Patients soon learn to recognize and even welcome this sensation as it results in deactivating the trigger point, reducing pain, and restoring normal length function to the involved muscle.

Ready to learn more? Explore our related posts below all written by our own team at Hampton Physical Therapy.