Dry Needling & Electronic muscle stimulation (EMS) 

What is Dry Needling?

dry needling

Dry Needling, also known as Intramuscular Stimulation (IMS), is an effective technique used to treat pain arising from muscles and/or nerves. Dry needling involves inserting a needle, without medication or injection, into an area of the muscle known as a trigger point. A trigger point is an irritable, hard “knot” within a muscle that is painful when palpated and can produce significant pain over a large area. Trigger points are very common and can often make everyday tasks difficult. Often, these trigger points may be too deep to be effectively treated by other treatment techniques.

How does Dry Needling work?

Dry needling works by advancing the needle into the trigger point, which causes the muscle to grab onto the needle in an attempt to repel the needle. This is called a localized twitch response which deactivates the trigger point and relaxes the muscle. This can result in significant pain relief, decrease muscle tension, increase the range of motion, improve function and promote a return to activity.

What conditions can Dry Needling treat?

A broad range of musculoskeletal injuries can be treated effectively with dry needling. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Hamstring/Quads/ & calf injuries
  • Shin splints
  • Plantar Fasciitis
  • Low back pain
  • Sciatica and piriformis syndrome
  • Knee pain
  • Neck pain and whiplash symptoms
  • Headaches
  • Tennis and Golfer’s elbow
  • Neck and Shoulder/arm pain
  • Repetitive strain injuries
  • Chronic pain

What is Electric Muscle Stimulation?

Electronic muscle stimulation (EMS) may help you to strengthen weak muscles.

What are the benefits of dry needling with e-stim?

Dry needling on its own can be extremely effective as a treatment. The addition of e-stim acts as an adjunct to enhance the treatment effect for pain relief. E-stim helps to stimulate blood flow and provide analgesic effects to help numb the pain, often providing a more long-term effect.

How does the e-stim itself work?

Electrical stimulation helps treat pain by stimulating larger nerve fibers that supersede smaller nerve fibers that are causing pain. The needles are inserted on specific points along the body. The needles are then attached to a device that generates continuous electric pulses using small clips. These devices are used to adjust the frequency and intensity of the impulse being delivered, depending on the condition being treated. The device uses two needles at time so that the impulses can pass from one needle to the other. Several pairs of needles can be stimulated simultaneously, usually for no more than 25 minutes at a time.

For further details contact Pauline on 086 3784747