Overland ParkServices
October 15, 2020
Dry Needling: Putting Your Life Back in Motion
Bringing relief and restored muscle function to pain sufferers in Kansas City
TruMove, located in Overland Park, was the first physical therapy clinic to offer dry needling in the Kansas City area. Dry needling can release trigger points, help improve mobility, stimulate healing and minimize referred symptoms.
Pain, muscle stiffness and limited mobility — we’ve all experienced these symptoms. If you’re one of the lucky ones, over time, the pain dissipates and full motion returns. However, for most of us, the pain just won’t go away, the muscle refuses to relax, and we are forced to harness our active ways. Thankfully, there is a highly-effective treatment available in Overland Park that is bringing pain-free motion back into the lives of many in Kansas City. Dry Needling is quite possibly the “restart” you need to stop the cycle of pain and put your life back in motion.
TruMove, located in Overland Park, KS, was the first physical therapy clinic to offer dry needling in the Kansas City area. We have embraced the trigger point treatment, seeing the positive outcomes, day after day, patient after patient. “It’s a privilege to be the premier Kansas City-area clinic to offer this treatment,” says Dr. Drew Dischinger, physical therapist and CEO of TruMove. “We believe very strongly in its therapeutic benefits.” So strong is our belief in its efficacy that TruMove has been an unwavering advocate before Kansas state legislators in the successful push to keep dry needling within the scope of practice for physical therapy.
Continually gaining popularity in Overland Park and across the country, dry needling is a physical therapy tool used to help release muscle tissue, serving as a hard reset for dysfunctional muscles. TruMove physical therapists insert thin, “dry” (without medication or injection) needles into trigger points, relieving tension to jump-start healing. “Dry needling can release trigger points, help improve mobility, stimulate healing, repair tissue and minimize referred symptoms,” shares Drew.
Dry Needling offers a variety of benefits — and patients are taking notice. Says the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), “Research supports that dry needling improves pain control, reduces muscle tension . . . and facilitates an accelerated return to active rehabilitation.”
Because it involves a needle, dry needling is often misunderstood as acupuncture. The difference is in the approach. While the tool may be the same, the treatment is different. Drew explains, “The real treatment lies in the physical therapists’ ability and skill to target those trigger points and work with the patient’s entire body.” Compared to other manual techniques, dry needling allows TruMove physical therapists to trigger a quicker, effective response, resulting in pain relief, restored mobility and enhanced performance.
Physical therapy patients often wonder if dry needling is painful. “The treatment may be uncomfortable,” Drew says, “but only for a few seconds. Dry needling can have an immediate positive effect, reducing pain as it increases blood flow to the area.” Minor muscle soreness may occur afterwards, but it is typically nothing more painful than what we experience after a good workout.
Dry needling doesn’t just treat the patient’s symptoms — instead, it addresses the cause of pain as the trigger point is released. The number of dry needling sessions you need will depend on your body’s response to treatment and how long you have been dealing with the pain. Some patients notice immediate, complete pain relief and improved muscle function, while it may take 6-8 sessions for others to see results. For this reason, keeping an open dialogue with your physical therapist about how dry needling is working for you is very important. We are working toward the same goal: to relieve your pain, restore your muscle function, and put your life back in motion!
