Dry Needling Physical Therapy Treatment

Dry Needling
Acute and Chronic Pain Relief. Treatment by A Physical Therapist.

I’ve been seeing Dr Tim Vidale for a couple months and couldn’t be happier. This is my second experience with Dry Needling and he is by far superior to my last provider. My back feels looser, and he knows exactly where to focus. I like that he takes extra time to stretch me, crack my back… Whatever I need that day to feel better. I feel lucky to have found this practice.

– Tamar L.

During my 1 hour evaluation, he gave me his complete attention and carefully and thoughtfully explained what was happening in my anatomy, what he recommended, and why. This leads me to my next point, which is that Dr Vidale is extremely skilled in his treatment. One of his specialties is called ‘dry needling’. I was pretty skeptical/fearful of this at first, let me tell you. essentially it is a form of acupuncture where the practitioner is inserting microneedles into the skin to stimulate muscle tissue which has knotted. While I admit that it can be slightly painful at first, the results are outstanding and worth every second of the treatment.

– Matt E.

Great shop. Hard working PTs, know what they are doing. Spend entire session working with you. Personable, professional, and fun.

– Peter G.

Why Dry Needling?

Dry needling is a form of physical therapy that involves inserting a thin needle through the skin and into the muscle. It’s also known as trigger point dry needling. Trigger points are hyperirritable spots in our muscles that are usually painful to the touch. Some people refer to trigger points as “knots” in the muscle. These areas can also refer pain to other places in our body when palpated. Why do we have trigger points or “knots”? Typically these areas are initiated by trauma or injury to a muscle. There are chemical and physiological changes that occur within the muscle after injury or trauma that develop a pattern of dysfunction. Sometimes the “trauma” is as simple as having poor posture while sitting at a computer all day.

Dry needling is a way for physical therapists to treat multiple muscles quickly and effectively. It also helps physical therapists reach deep muscles that are difficult to manually treat. Dry needling is a valuable complementary treatment to other techniques such as manual therapy and therapeutic exercise.

Does It Hurt?

Dry needling uses a very thin solid needle or filament to disrupt the trigger point and elicit a “twitch response” which returns that muscle to a normal state by allowing inflammatory chemicals to leave the trigger point, to relax the muscle, and to restore blood flow to the area. Dry needling often uses the same type of needle as used in acupuncture, however while acupuncture remains close to the skin, dry needling penetrates deeper and so requires a physical therapist’s expert knowledge of the musculoskeletal system to administer. While dry needling does penetrate the muscles, the needles are very thin and you may or may not feel the insertion of the needle. Some patients may feel a brief ache or cramping sensation during the twitch response.

Benefits

Acute and chronic pain
Lower back pain
Tendonitis
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Disk pathology
Neck/Back Pain
Shoulder Pain
Tennis/Golfer’s Elbow
Hip and Gluteal Pain
Headaches
Knee Pain
Plantar Fasciitis
Sciatica

About Therapydia DC

Better Physical Therapy Experience

At Therapydia DC, our physical therapists offer private dry needling treatments. You’ll spend your entire with one of our expert therapists – we won’t hand you off to a PT assistant or aide. We’ll help you understand what’s causing your pain, what you can do to relieve your pain and ways to prevent reoccurring injuries. Best of all, you’re covered. Therapydia works with and provides billing for most PPO insurance groups and Medicare. We also accept cash-based payments.