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Dry Needling

What is Dry Needling?

Dry needling is a widely used and highly effective treatment that has brought real pain relief and deep healing to many people.

Dry needle therapy can be very effective in treating a range of conditions including chronic muscle pain, neuromuscular problems, and sports injuries.

It’s called dry needling simply to highlight the fact that no fluids are injected through the needles.

Dry needling looks like traditional Chinese acupuncture and our trained dry needle therapy podiatrists use the same kind of fine sterile needles but there are fundamental differences in the way dry needling and acupuncture work.

How Does Dry Needling Work?

A dry needle therapy practitioner uses microfine (around 0.3mm wide) needles to release trigger points of tension and pain in muscles at the myofascial, muscle and periosteal levels.

In simple terms; a foreign element (the needle) causes the muscle to relax around painful nerve points (trigger points) in taut muscle bands.

As this relaxation occurs, muscle compression eases, and this in turn leads to a significant or complete reduction in pain and greatly improved muscle or joint function.

Dry needling also increases blood flow and oxygenation around inflamed muscle cells. This in turn aids the removal of lactic acid that has built up in painful and inflamed areas.

Dry needling also stimulates the release of pain-killing endorphins and cortisol to help reduce inflammation and speed the healing process.

In some ways you could liken dry needling to the hands of a deep tissue massage, probing deep into the soft tissue.

But in dry needle therapy the needles target the problem areas in a highly precise way.

​​Who and What Does it Help?

Dry needling is highly effective and safe to use with all ages.

Dry needling is perfect for treating and even completely eliminating bunions, restoring joint mobility, releasing muscle imbalances and nerve impingements associated with arthritic hip, knees and feet and generally improving joint range of movement in the elderly.

Dry needling is also a treatment of choice for children with gait issues and biomechanical abnormalities.

Dry needle therapy is highly effective for sports injuries and can also help optimize performance and alleviate muscle imbalances for elite athletes.

In fact, dry needling can alleviate many of the underlying causes of a wide range of muscular and skeletal problems and other painful conditions including:

  • Bunions
  • Hip bursitis
  • Sciatica
  • Heel spurs
  • Shin splints
  • Arthritic hip knees and feet

As a result of the relaxation of painful muscle trigger points the joints are able to function with the proper range of movement and this improves overall body function as well.

This is why dry needling is such a great option for treating biomechanical abnormalities.

Many patients report additional benefits too, including better sleep, as a result of better overall body function and pain reduction.

What’s the Difference Between Dry Needling and Acupuncture?

Dry needling dates back to the 1940’s and acts on specific trigger points or knots in muscles and soft tissue. Dry needling grew out of the practice of injecting painful muscles with corticosteroids and analgesics.

Research showed that the benefits were actually due to the intramuscular stimulation by the needles and not the drugs. Today, a growing body of research is supporting the use of dry needle therapy as a treatment of choice.

At Erica Dash Podiatry our expert staff are engaged in a constant search for the best treatment options available.

Dry needle therapy is just another part of our commitment to making sure you get the best, most effective treatment for your needs.

On the surface dry needling looks just like acupuncture. Yes, both types of treatment use the same type of needles and both require trained practitioners to administer the treatment.

But dig a little deeper and you’ll see that there are some significant differences between acupuncture and dry needling.

Acupuncture is based on traditional Chinese medicine and dates back some 3,000 years.

Acupuncture works with the energy channels or meridians and Chi (energy) and the practitioner uses needles to release blockages that prevent that energy flowing freely through the body.

Because the meridians are all interconnected and run throughout the body, it is possible to treat a problem without actually putting needles into the specific region of pain.

Acupuncture is frequently used to treat digestive problems, blood pressure, anxiety and other difficulties that may be less physical in nature.

Even though the two modalities may use some of the same points and the same needles, dry needling is firmly based on a Western medical and science-based approach.

Podiatry Services for Children

Erica and her experienced team offer the complete feet treatment for your children. Erica’s team gives teens and toddlers professional, up to date knowledge using the latest technology in her state of the art consulting rooms treating sever’s Disease, growing pains, achilles tendinitis, heel pain, plantar fasciitis, knock knees and pigeon toes.

Dry Needling

Dry Needling is an excellent choice of therapy for children as it relaxes muscle tissue and lengthens the muscle in a short space of time.

It is an effective treatment in children as their muscles usually respond quickly, this therapy is great for patients of any age and can work well with stretching.

Dry Needling is an effective treatment for children suffering from chronic conditions such as Severs disease, Achilles tendinitis, heel pain, plantar fasciitis, knock knees, and in the toe. It can help relieve pain associated with Osgood Schlatter’s disease.

Shockwave Therapy
Shockwave therapy uses acoustic waves and mechanical pulses to release trigger points in muscles. It is particularly useful in treating children with muscle spasticity such as cerebral palsy.
Joint Mobilisation through Muscle Energy
Muscle Energy Technique uses the muscle’s own energy to relax and lengthen the muscle and improve joint range of motion. It’s an excellent treatment in children with tight muscles and limited joint range of motion.
Massage
Massage is an excellent therapy for children recovering from injury as it reduces muscle tension and increases joint range of motion.
Ingrown Toenail Surgery

Every attempt is made to avoid surgery, particularly in children at Erica Dash Podiatry. Always conservative means are tried first.

However, for chronic ingrown toenails or severely incurvated nails, we do offer nail surgery under a local anesthetic.

Children with ingrown nails often recover quickly from surgery and are back to playing sport usually within two weeks.

Cryotherapy for Plantar Warts
Cryotherapy is a simple way of treating painful plantar warts in children. Our “Cryospray” quickly reduces the temperature of the wart virus to a level the cells can’t survive.

It is an excellent solution to plantar warts in children as it is relatively quick and painless.

Shockwave Therapy

Shockwave is a great alternative to treatments such as dry needling if you’re needle phobic and not keen on dry needling. We also have effective treatment offers for kids.

Learn More

Orthotics

If you experience foot, knee or leg pain in your daily activities then a professionally fitted custom orthotic could be the answer to your foot problems.

Learn More

Laser Fungal Therapy

The team at Erica Dash Podiatry choose ‘Pinpointe Laser” to treat your fungal nails. Laser therapy is a safe, non-invasive, painfree and effective treatment option for nail fungus.

Learn More

Schedule Your Appointment

Erica Dash Podiatry is family friendly treating a wide range of foot and leg complaints of patients of any age or stage of life - See All Podiatrists

Leaders in lower limb care embracing the whole family…
Call us at 02 4367 0177 or fill out our online contact form to schedule your podiatry appointment today!

Contact Info

225 Central Coast Hwy,
Erina,
NSW, 2250

02 4367 0177

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