Functional Dry Needling – How it Can Help Treat Low Back Pain

At CHI Health St. Mary’s we use a multitude of therapy interventions in the treatment of low back pain. In addition to the normal joint mobilization and corrective exercises, we also like to utilize functional dry needling.

How Functional Dry Needling Works

During functional dry needling, we insert a tiny needle into your muscles to help reduce the amount of tension within that segment. In doing so, we increase the blood flow and promote healing in a very safe and helpful manner.

To demonstrate how dry needling works to alleviate and treat low back pain, please watch the video above. As you watch, you will see a tiny needle inserted into the muscle to break up any tight tissue or trigger points.

By doing this the physical therapist can identify the tight spot, bracket around the tissue and insert the needle into the skin. Then, they will angle back down into the muscle until that muscle elicits a twitch. Thus, breaking up the knots!

From there, they can leave the needle or insert a secondary needle and use electrical stimulation to cut down on post needle soreness. The electrical stimulation will help with soreness later on that day and into the next day. By inserting the secondary needle at the level below, they can angle back and use alligator clips to elicit a muscle contraction out of the tissue.

If you look closely, you'll see that the muscle is bouncing up and down as the tissue not only gets increase blood flow, but also starts to relax.

To learn more about your options for pain management, please reach out to a CHI Health Physical Therapist.