By Richard Collins


Dry needling is a form of therapy of muscle pain like myofascial pain syndrome, which uses needles. This process makes use of two kinds of acupuncture needles, that is, solid filiform needles and hollo-core hypodermic needles. The other name for this process is intramuscular stimulation (IMS). It is among the many traditional practices that fall under western medical acupuncture. When in need of dry needling Pennsylvania is worth visiting.

The Chinese version of tendinomuscular acupuncture relies on carefully palpating Ah Shi points which often correspond to both motor and trigger points in the myofascial tissue. As opposed to the Japanese and American styles which utilize higher gauge needles, the Chinese style makes use of lower gauge needles necessary for precise puncturing of contraction knots. Having a detailed knowledge of channel networks and connections and of the western anatomy is very crucial in most acupuncture styles.

As such, although the IMS does not cover all versions of acupuncture and the two are not the same, the term can be used to specifically refer to some versions of acupuncture. Those forms of acupuncture to which IMS refers to specifically include some versions of Sports Acupuncture, Myofascial Acupuncture, and tendinomuscular Acupuncture. Janet Travell is often credited with coming up with the term dry needling, which she described in her book.

Initially, there were concerns about the employment of solid needles. They were thought to lack the strength and tactile feedback that are provided by hypodermic needles. Solid needles were also thought as being easy to be deflected by dense contraction knots. However, those concerns were determined to be baseless and solid needles also called acupuncture needles are now being used.

In fact, research has concluded that dense muscle knots are penetrated better and easier by acupuncture needles and the tactile feedback they provide is also better. Also, patients feel less uncomfortable and the needles are easier to manage. The official FDA designation for the needles used is acupuncture needles, but practitioners offering IMS without the scope of acupuncture in their profession introduced the term solid filiform needle. That is the technical design term.

Currently, no standards for dry needling exist. There is also no body of evidence to indicate its efficacy in managing the medical conditions it claims. Most of the studies that were conducted on this technique were crowded by a lot of issues that made it impossible for any strong evidence to be gathered. For instance, sample sizes employed were small, drop out rates were high, and studies lacked randomization.

The studies failed to state if the pain the patient felt was solely caused by myofascial trigger points. Additionally, they did not adhere to minimally acceptable criteria that need to be followed to diagnose a myofascial trigger point. Drop out rates in some studies have been as high as 48 percent. However, research studies that continued to the end concluded that IMS can improve function, disability, and mood.

This approach to treatment is taught and practiced in many parts of the world. Teachers and practitioners can be physical therapists, chiropractors, acupuncturists, doctors of medicine, naturopathic physicians, and osteopathic doctors several many others. In the United States, the scope of practice of acupuncturists, Doctors of Medicine, and Osteopathic doctors include IMS.




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