Intramuscular Manual Therapy (Trigger Point Dry Needling)
What is it?
Intramuscular Manual Therapy (IMT), otherwise known as Trigger Point Dry Needling, is a treatment for relieving pain caused by muscular tightness and spasms which commonly follow injuries that often accompany the degenerative process.
Combining the Intramuscular Manual Therapy techniques with other manual and rehabilitative methods has proven to be very effective in the treatment of both acute and chronic pain, speeding up recovery time. Dry needling can help relieve pain associated with carpel tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, and osteoarthritis in various joints. The treatment is also effective to improve mobility, chronic pain, and acute pain syndromes.
How does it work?
Intramuscular Manual Therapy utilizes a very thin filament needle. This is not acupuncture- it is based on Western physiological approaches developed by medical doctors and physical therapists.
The needle is inserted into the trigger point and a local twitch response is ideally elicited. This twitch response is an involuntary contraction of the muscle that allows it to relax. Sometimes electrical stimulation is applied to the needle to elicit these twitches to help the muscle relax.
Dry needling works by disrupting a reflex arc of contracted tissue as well as stimulating biochemical changes to allow improved blood flow and healing to the afflicted area.
What conditions can be treated?
- Neck pain
- Low back pain and Sciatica
- Headaches
- TMJ
- Trochanteric bursitis
- Hip pain
- Osteoarthritis
- Ankle sprains
- Plantar fasciitis
- Sports injuries
- Whiplash injuries
- Chronic pain sydrome
- Hand and foot pain
- Many other pain related symptoms that may not have been resolved with the traditional treatment methods
