Dry needling at New Life Chiropractic in Virginia Beach!
What is dry needling?
Dry needling is rapidly becoming the number one treatment for chronic muscular pain. Dry needling can be effectively used for tendinitis, arthritis, post sprain/strain, trigger points and any other pain syndromes. We have also had great success in treating radiating pain like sciatica or brachial (arm) pain. The origin of needling is attributed to Dr. Janet Travell in the 1960’s. Dr Travells most famous patient President John F Kennedy, was suffering from low back pain following a failed surgery. She would routinely treat him with steroid injections. When these steroid injections proved to have negative side effects, she substituted saline in the injections which had a good pain relieving outcome. She later used needles with no injection (dry) and had similar results.
How does dry needling work?
Over the years there have been many studies done on why dry needling works. The results are very complicated and inconclusive. The one thing they have in common is that the patients feel better post treatment, and the relief can be long lasting. We know without doubt that needling effects the nervous system and creates a healing cascade to the area being treated. This leads to a break in the pain cycle which allows the body to heal itself. The results of needling is generally immediate relief and varies by how severe the condition is. The number of treatments needed also depends on severity. Mild conditions can often be fixed with one treatment. The treatments are not painful do to the use of very thin mono filament needles. The needles are sterile, stainless steel, vacuum sealed and disposable.
In the past 5 years since completing my dry needle certification, I have had many unbelievable outcomes treating some very difficult and chronic conditions. I am surprised at how amazing needling can be. While I was studying for a needling practical exam I treated my own thumb which had tendon pain for several months. I got instant relief and it has not come back. I was immediately sold. Needling has expanded my practice and in combination with chiropractic care has greatly improved patient experience and outcome levels.
Treating musculoskeletal and nerve pain with dry needling in Virginia Beach.
The 4 advantages of using dry needling as the primary or secondary form of therapy for treating musculoskeletal and nerve pain include:
- Dry needling treats the whole region of the body, concentrating on the cause of the pain and not only on the area where the pain shows up. Because of this, pain in the lower back and neck area as well as any referred pain in the upper and lower limbs can be treated at the same time.
- By improving general health, dry needling speeds up and enhances the bodies ability to heal itself. Improved healing potential directly reduces inflammation which is the primary cause of pain.
- Dry needling directly targets pain and dissolves tension in trigger points, relaxes muscle spasm, eases body stress by creating homeostasis of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, promotes local circulation of the blood and reduces swelling and inflammation in strained or sprained muscle, tendons,and ligaments.
- The majority of doctors treating low back and neck pain agree that the number one cause is a musculoskeletal disorder, followed by a neuropathic problem and third a vascular disease. Most musculoskeletal disease responds super well to dry needling.
Statistics show that about 160 million Americans (200,000 Virginia Beach residents) will suffer from acute or chronic neck or low back pain and spend about 20 – 50 billion a year in treatment cost. Most of this spent on drugs and therapy. Dry needling at New Life Chiropractic in Virginia Beach is a safe and very effective alternative.