{"id":8501,"date":"2020-02-09T08:00:15","date_gmt":"2020-02-09T14:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/?p=8501"},"modified":"2020-07-06T15:59:44","modified_gmt":"2020-07-06T20:59:44","slug":"dry-needling-provides-a-solution-for-pain-and-stiffness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/dry-needling-provides-a-solution-for-pain-and-stiffness\/","title":{"rendered":"Dry needling provides a solution for pain and stiffness"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Interested in dry needling?<\/p>\n

Talk to your primary care provider<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The crack in the sidewalk was pretty small.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I caught it,\u201d Terry Sullivan said.<\/p>\n

And down he went. At first, he was simply embarrassed. Then came the pain in his neck, which quickly grew stiff.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe stiffness wouldn\u2019t go away,\u201d Terry said. \u201cI started to think, \u2018Boy, is this what old age is about?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Terry is 67 years old, a lifelong resident of Livingston County in Central Illinois. He spent 30 years with the county sheriff\u2019s department, first as a deputy, then as a sergeant. He retired 16 years ago and bought into a real estate business, which he continues to operate. He tries to work out three or four days a week.<\/p>\n

But the pain and stiffness in his neck threatened to disrupt everything.<\/p>\n

Addressing the trigger point for pain<\/h2>\n

Terry finally went to see his doctor, who referred him to the physical therapy department<\/a> at OSF HealthCare Saint James-John W. Albrecht Medical Center<\/a> in Pontiac, the county seat.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, a specific stretching regimen or \u201csoft-tissue mobilization\u201d \u2013 a type of massage therapy \u2013 can provide relief. But some cases require more. For Terry, physical therapist Angela Ehrgott <\/a>suggested dry needling therapy.<\/p>\n

Angela is one of four clinicians at OSF Saint James, and one of 70 throughout the OSF HealthCare Ministry, certified to perform dry needling<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The technique is called \u201cdry\u201d needling because no medication is injected. The therapist inserts an ultrathin needle (no more than 0.3 millimeters thick) into the affected area.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I do is locate the specific muscle that seems to be the issue,\u201d Angela said. \u201cI find the knot, or what we call the trigger point for the pain, and I use the needle to get into that knot. I\u2019m using the end of the needle to get to where my fingers can\u2019t with other soft-tissue mobilization techniques.\u201d<\/p>\n

The needle, which can be up to six centimeters long (just over two inches), usually is inserted for only a minute or two. The needle relaxes muscle fibers, decreases muscle spasm and releases tension.<\/p>\n

Relief from pain, discomfort<\/h2>\n

\u201cOnce you get that spot loosened up with the needle, the entire muscle can stretch a little better,\u201d Angela said. Specific stretching and strengthening exercises take the treatment from there.<\/p>\n

Terry underwent weekly dry needling treatments for about six weeks. He began to see improvement almost immediately, and by the time treatments finished, he had regained full range of motion and was pain free.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt definitely gave me relief. I have no discomfort whatsoever,\u201d Terry said. \u201cI know it might not be right for everybody, but if you have pain like that, trust your therapist. If other treatments aren\u2019t working, dry needling is something you should consider.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018I didn\u2019t feel the prick at all\u2019<\/h2>\n

Some people are reluctant to try dry needling because of a fear of needles or pain.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey said I\u2019d probably feel a little prick,\u201d Terry said. \u201cBut most of the time, I didn\u2019t feel the prick at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Angela said the use of dry needling depends on the patient. If you really don\u2019t like needles, she\u2019ll pursue a different course of therapy.<\/p>\n

In addition, dry needling would not be performed on a person taking blood-thinners unless the primary physician approved. Dry needling is not used on people who have an active infection, and needles are never used over sensitive areas like the lungs, front of the neck or directly over nerves or arteries that might be compromised.<\/p>\n

But dry needling is an effective treatment for many muscle and joint issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can do it everywhere from your neck to your feet: head, back of head, face, jaw, jaw muscles, hands, feet,\u201d Angela said. \u201cWe do a lot of needling on patients with plantar fasciitis<\/a>. We treat calves and hamstrings, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Talk with your doctor about a referral to OSF Rehabilitation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Safe and trusted care<\/h2>\n

After closing non-essential services to focus our efforts and resources on responding to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, OSF HealthCare reopened services with increased measures to keep you safe from infection.<\/p>\n

All OSF HealthCare hospitals, urgent care centers and medical offices are following strict guidelines provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for cleaning and disinfecting. Patients, essential visitors and Mission Partners are expected to wear masks, for the comfort and safety of everyone. But our hospitals, emergency departments and practices also have comprehensive strategies for keeping patients safe that go beyond what the CDC asks of us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OSF HealthCare has 70 clinicians in Illinois and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan certified to perform dry needling therapy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":85,"featured_media":8565,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[223,294],"tags":[902,576],"coauthors":[912],"class_list":["post-8501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patient-story","category-rehabilitation","tag-dry-needling","tag-osf-saint-james"],"yoast_head":"\nDry needling provides a solution for pain and stiffness | OSF HealthCare<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"OSF HealthCare has 70 clinicians in Illinois and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan certified to perform dry needling therapy.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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