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Basics of Dry Needling

Indications 

  • Pain of myofascial origin

  • Spasticity  

Contraindications

  • Acute infections

  • Blood thinning

  • No consent from patient

  • Fever

  • Acute emergency

  • Lymphedema

  • Hematoma

  • Osteosynthesis 

Precautions

  • Gravidity

  • Children

  • Psychiatric diseases

  • HIV

  • Diabetes

  • Contagious diseases

Adverse Effects 

  • Pneumothorax

  • Infections

  • Soreness at the site of needling

  • Local bleeding at the insertion site

  • Dizziness and vertigo

  • Sudden and excessive perspiration,

  • Fainting

Parameters

Clinical Characteristics of Trigger points:

  • Weakness of involved muscle

  • Loss of coordination

  • Altered sequence of recruitment patterns

  • Decreased work tolerance of muscle

Patient Position

  • Supine 

  • Prone

  • Side-lying

Procedure

  • Wear gloves 

  • Use alcholol wipes to clean the area

  • Identify the taut band 

  • Remove the tube (with needle insitu) from the wrapper

  • Release the needle by removing the colored tab on the top while pressing the top of the needle against the tube to keep it in tube

  • Place the tube on the patient over the trigger point

  • Let the needle drop down onto the skin

  • Briskly tap the top of the needle to get it through the skin 

  • The needle is placed in order to penetrate the contraction knot with straight in and out motions (or tangential to the muscle to minimize adverse effects)

  • A local twitch response should be elicited

  • The needle may be drawn back to the skin and redirected in order to treat other parts of the contraction knot or nearby areas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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