No matter the sport, all athletes need dedication, determination, and perseverance to be successful. They need a certain level of motivation to overcome the adversity faced along the way.

Athletes are continually challenging their bodies to increase strength, agility, and endurance.

What Happens When You Push Too Far

When an athlete puts too much extra pressure on their body, in the presence of an underlying musculoskeletal imbalance, it can often create a cascade of unwanted alternative movement strategies. These compensations cause some muscles to become inhibited and others to be overworked, interfering with overall muscle coordination and timing. Athletes also place extra stresses on certain parts of the body that ultimately lead to decreased efficiency and breakdown in performance.

Intense training often results in the development of trigger points.

What Are Trigger Points?

Trigger points are hyperirritable spots within a muscle that create pain, imbalance, and decreased activity. When a trigger point occurs, there is a build-up of activity around that part of the tissue, sending messages to the brain that there is too much activity or tension resulting in signals coming back to reduce or inhibit that overactivity.

Fortunately, there is a treatment technique known as trigger point dry needling (TDN) that can help eliminate trigger points.

How Does Trigger Point Dry Needling Work?

Dry needling uses a fine filament needle to reset the communication signal, releasing the trigger point and enabling the entire muscle to function efficiently again. In simple terms, a trigger point can be described as a miscommunication issue. TDN resets the miscommunication in your body, and in turn, enables the muscles to work better together to support the body.

There are many benefits to dry needling, such as:

  • Conservative, minimally invasive approach
  • Improves muscle extensibility and contractility
  • Promotes blood flow to targeted body areas
  • Kickstarts healing process in parts of the body that other treatments haven’t been successful in treating

Trigger point dry needling is a practical option for patients experiencing neck and shoulder pain, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, low back pain, headaches, and more.

Is Dry Needling the Same as Acupuncture?

One question we often hear is, “But wait – isn’t this acupuncture?” Not exactly. The two treatments may use the same tools, but they do not produce the same results. While the types of needles used in dry needling may be similar to those used in acupuncture, acupuncture seeks to alter energy flows based on traditional Chinese meridians to treat diseases.

Conversely, dry needling is a science-based technique with the goal of directly treating pain and dysfunction in neuromuscular and musculoskeletal conditions.

What to Do If You Suffer From Trigger Points

If pain is preventing you from maintaining your athletic training pace, your physical therapist can perform a full assessment to determine the cause. They may find that some of your muscles need a reset and trigger point dry needling is the best course of action to treat this issue.

Every physical therapist at SetPT is trained and experienced in dry needling to help you get back to living life your way. Contact us today to get started on your journey to recovery!

Originally published January 16, 2018, updated January 30, 2019.