Dry Needling for Chronic Pain & Fibromyalgia

Dry needling has become a popular treatment technique for many neuromusculoskeletal disorders over the last few years. The use of dry needling with chronic pain and fibromyalgia has proven to be highly effective according to more recent research studies. 

Your physical therapist will use the dry needles to target the areas of most discomfort and can be done at multiple locations; as with fibromyalgia there can often be more than one area of pain. Dry needling positively effects the central and peripheral pain processing centers in our nervous systems. There is a local increase in blood flow and oxygenation to the tissues and a central pain inhibiting response from the brain. Different dry needling techniques that can be utilized, however the use of electric stimulation with the dry needles is emerging as the most effective technique for pain inhibition. 

Electro-dry needling is especially useful in the treatment of chronic pain and fibromyalgia. The use of electric stimulation in conjunction with the needles has been shown to decrease pain more effectively than with just the needles alone. There is also a greater relaxing effect during and after the treatments with the electrical stimulation. 

Generally, benefits from dry needling can be felt after just the first session, which allows the return to activity much quicker and with less fear of flaring symptoms. If you are suffering from chronic aches and pains or were diagnosed with fibromyalgia, we recommend trying dry needling with our certified physical therapist here at PTM.