Dry Needling in Towson MD

Are you looking for dry needling in Towson MD? You don't have to live with chronic, disruptive pain. Whether that pain is in your back, neck, shoulders, jaw, or even if you are suffering from a headache, dry needling may be right for you. Dry needling, also known as trigger point needling, provides fast and efficient relief to a variety of injuries for our patients at Kalkstein Chiropractic. For the best dry needle therapy in Towson MD and to start feeling better faster, call our office today (410) 296-7700 or click here to schedule your appointment.

Dry Needle Therapy In Towson MD

Dry needling is a drug-free treatment performed by skilled, trained, and certified chiropractors, medical doctors, and physical therapists. The practitioner uses a thin monofilament needle to penetrate the skin and treat underlying muscular trigger points or muscle tension, injuries, and pain. This process has been proven to relieve and improve neuromusculoskeletal pain and movement impairments in many patients.

A trigger point is an area of constriction or tension in muscle fibers that can disrupt function, restrict mobility or range of motion, and cause intense pain and tenderness. Dry needling is used to target these tight trigger points in a particular muscle so that they loosen, allow blood flow to increase, and relieve pain.

While the name may sound intimidating or painful, dry needling causes minimal discomfort if any. Our patients compare dry needling's effectiveness to that of multiple deep tissue massages, but in a fraction of the time.  During dry needling, a patient may feel a twitch in the muscle as it releases tension. This practice dates back to the 1970s when a physician ran a study that tested injecting medication into trigger points. The physician was shocked to find out that the control group that didn't receive any sort of medication (aka the dry needle),  saw significant improvement. After a series of additional tests, dry needling was developed using acupuncture needles to stimulate the tissue in and around a trigger point and now is rapidly growing in popularity due to its effectiveness in relieving pain and healing injuries.

How Does Dry Needling Work?

All tissues (including muscles) respond to two different types of stimuli: chemical (ex: drugs or breaking the tissue) and mechanical (ex: massage or exercise). Dry needling uses very thin dry needles that puncture the skin and slide through the tissue. The needles provide a constant mechanical stimulus to the trigger points while they're in place, which is usually about 8-10 minutes.  The mechanical stimulus provided is similar to what your muscles would get from a massage but because the needle doesn't need to release pressure like a hand does when massaging a muscle, the pressure remains constant and is able to provide relief in a very short period of time.

In addition to the mechanical stimulus that Dry Needling provides, it is also an effective way to improve blood flow and oxygenation to damaged tissue. Dry needling provides a natural way to relieve pain using anti-inflammatory mediators that exist in the body to decrease the sensation of pain. If you are looking for more information on how this process works, read this research out of the National Institutes of Health that describes these pathways in detail.

What Does Dry Needling Treat?

Dry needling can treat a vast range of ailments including:

• Disc problems like a herniated disk or pinched nerve
• Tendinitis
• Migraine and tension headaches
• TMJ and other temporomandibular joint disorders
• Whiplash
• Repetitive motion injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome and tennis elbow
• Spinal problems
• Knee pain
• Shoulder pain
• Osteoarthritis pain
• Hip pain
• Sports injuries
• Fibromyalgia pain
• Plantar fasciitis