Dry Needling Topics

How soon can you needle a muscle after a muscle tear? How soon can you needle a muscle after a muscle tear? This is a question we regularly get during the GEMt courses and a topic always worth refreshing. Let’s first refresh tissue healing times: Bleeding phase (6-24 hours) Bleeding occurs in the early stages post injury Variable length of time depending on the extent of the soft tissue injury and vascularity of injured structures Inflammatory phase (6 hours-2 weeks, max reaction 1-3 days) Various activities to assist healing eg fluid leakage from capillaries, increased blood cells to the area, [...]

How can you be trained to dry needle in three days? One common thread being discussed these days is the topic of dry needling and training. People want to know why acupuncturists train for many years at their chosen field, whereas practitioners of dry needling have typically done a weekend course. How is this possible? Are ‘Needlers’ adequately trained to be treating their patients with invasive procedures? Let’s discuss this hot topic and break it down to the core. Firstly, I would like to point out that I will not be discussing acupuncture here, I am not an acupuncturist and [...]

PneumothoraxFrom time to time there is media attention given to a story about a patient who suffered a pneumothorax after receiving acupuncture or dry needling treatment.A situation such as this has recently been reported in New Zealand, which highlights the importance of many aspects of dry needling, including patient education and consent, needling technique and post needling advice and follow up.Whilst many aspects of these are taught on the GEMt course, I wanted to re-iterate and remind GEMt course participants of these important messages.There are several things to consider here. Firstly, patient consent. It is important to adequately explain dry needling [...]

Dry Needling During Pregnancy We often get questions about dry needling during pregnancy. There are several things that need to be taken into account when considering dry needling during pregnancy. Firstly, it is contra-indicated to dry needling someone during their first trimester. This is a period in which there is the highest incidence of pregnancy complications, which you do not want linked to your treatment. In addition, there is no quality research undertaken to show it is safe during the first trimester. ​​ There is some evidence that dry needling during the second trimester can be performed safely. We would typically [...]

How does Lyme Disease impact Dry Needling? I recently got an interesting question from a GEMt course graduate regarding a patient who has Lyme Disease, and whether Dry Needling could be a suitable option for this patient. Lyme Disease is a well-discussed condition and if you have been practising for long enough odds are you have seen a patient with a confirmed diagnosis, or suspicion. So what is Lyme Disease and can we needle these patients? Lyme Disease is an infection caused by a tick that transmits the bacteria in the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato group. The ticks are found [...]

Creams & Lotions after Dry Needling: Do or Don't? Does anyone perform other forms of manual therapy after Dry Needling? In particular what about the use of massage cream to apply massage after the needling process? Is this clinically therapeutic, is it appropriate or even potentially harmful? What are the considerations with respect to using creams in this after dry needling? Anyone that has attended a GEMt Dry Needling will know that we do not teach the use of creams after dry needling. This is not to say that it is absolutely contra-indicated, or that clinicians out that are not [...]

Cadaveric and Ultrasonographic Validation of Needling Placement in the Cervical Multifidus Muscle. Check out the latest research article confirming we are hitting the Cervical Multifidus muscle when dry needling Note: Contains imagery of cadaver