Dry needling can have many benefits that can help treat specific muscles and conditions.

Do you get tight sore muscles ?

Ever had shin splints, headaches or sciatic pain?

Or even just finished a hard work out and now onto recovery ?

These are only naming a few issues that DrN (dry needling) can assist with.

Why is it called ‘Dry’-Needling?

In the early 1940s physicians started by injecting substances into Trigger points, such as saline, also known as “wet needling” to treat muscular conditions, Since then studies have found no difference than just using a Dry needle.

One reason we use needles is to help tell the body to create a repair and replace cycle to assist with allowing your body to recover and treat. The chemical levels in and near the muscle may change after DrN due to congested concentrations before, to then be treated.

What is the difference of Dry-Needling and Acupuncture?

Dry-Needling (DrN) is NOT acupuncture.

They are sat at opposite ends of the field. While they may use the same tools of tiny needles going into the body the theories behind them are very different. Acupuncture focuses on the flow of energy throughout the body, where as DrN is looking for the change in  specific muscle tissue.

Does it hurt?

A big question a lot of people wonder is , does it hurt ?

Our answer is no. There is a minimal chance you may feel a quick pin prick and at worst a sting on the skins surface, but nothing that won’t last longer than half a second. It has been described by some of our clients as an ant crawling on the skin.

In a lot of cases the needle will go in without any sensation, and once entering a muscle and a muscles trigger point you may feel an achey feel in that muscle. A twitch response may also happen, and you may even feel a referral pattern away from the original spot. All this is completely normal you may get all the sensations, or you may get none.  And that’s okay, the DrN will still be doing it’s work.

As a general rule, we don’t believe in the ‘No pain, no gain’ mentality. If you’ve previously had an uncomfortable or unpleasant experience with Dry-needling, it may have been because the ethos of that clinic may have been different to ours.

DrN may scare some, thinking the needle may touch, nerves ? Veins ? Organs? The needle is carefully placed to avoid any complications, and is completely safe when done by a trained professional.

What is the point of Dry-needling?

So knowing all of this DrN in a massage treatment work hand in hand together, as you may feel we find adhesions and soreness in muscle tissue, Dry-Needling is another tool we can use to treat these issues to get you recovering faster. While the needle is in during the treatment, it allows therapists to work on other problem areas, or we can wait for the needle to do it’s work by just keeping it in , or using techniques with the needle. We can also use multiple needles at once to treat the bigger muscle tissue or other muscles.

Massage can help warm up muscle tissue, locate problem areas and continue treatments, so using Dry-Needling as part of the treatment is a great way that your body may react very positive with making the treatment more effective.

Scared of needles?

If you aren’t a fan of needles, not to worry we don’t pressure anyone to have this done, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, there a plenty of other modalities that can help, we will always ask for permission before. Most people who don’t like needles find they LOVE cupping or other modalities.

Click below to book in with Charlotte for Dry-Needling

Behind the writing

Meet Charlotte!

Charlotte has been with Seashelle Massage since 2021. When she’s being her bubbly self in the clinic, she’s probably playing netball or playing with her dog Barley. Charlotte wanted to write a bit about Dry-Needling and the common questions asked about it as it’s one of her favourite tools in treatment. To find out more about Charlotte, click below!