Neck and shoulder pain can have a debilitating effect on a person’s day-to-day health and well-being by limiting their activity and movement.

Neck and shoulder pain often occurs when sensitive, inflamed tender points form within the connective tissue and musculature causing painful symptoms. For dry needling purposes, these tender points are referred to as “trigger points.”

Dry needling addresses and relieves these trigger points by inserting a filiform dry needle through the skin where it physically stretches the stressed soft tissue of the neck and shoulders.

The needle-induced stretching creates minor lesions, which prompt the body’s self-healing mechanisms and facilitate the restructuring and revitalizing of the inflamed tissue.

A study published in the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 2014, found dry needling can reduce local stress in the upper trapezius, increasing neck mobility and for patients with acute mechanical neck pain.

The researchers studied 17 patients. All patients’ neck pain began within 7 days of the start of the study. Half of the patients received trigger point dry needling treatment, and the other half received no treatment. The patients who received the dry needling treatment immediately experienced pain reduction by an average of 33%. One week after the treatment, their pain was 66% less. Also, those patients treated with dry needling demonstrated significantly better improvements in the cervical range of motion…

The study suggests that a single treatment session of dry needling can reduce pain and increase motion for patients suffering from acute mechanical neck pain.

Integrative Dry Needling is often combined with other physical therapy treatments to maximize the patient’s healing potential.

Interested in learning more about how Integrative dry needling could help benefit your physical therapy practice by improving your clinical outcomes? Click here to learn more about upcoming dry needling courses by the Integrative Dry Needling Institute.