What Is Dry Needling?

What to expect from a Dry Needling treatment

When having dry needling treatment, a very thin needle is used that is pre-sterilised and protected, and only used once. The needle is placed over the muscle and is quickly tapped into the muscle. When inserted, a small scratch may be felt but it should not be too painful. The muscle being treated will sometimes contract when a needle inserted, this is called a local twitch response and may be a little uncomfortable but is completely normal. After insertion a deep ache may be felt. The insertion of the needle will produce an inflammatory response, so redness, heat and swelling may occur. Once the needle is in the muscle, the therapist may move the needle up and down, side to side or twisting the needle round, which helps to stretch the muscle fibres being treated. Needles can be left in for anywhere between 5 to 20 minutes.

How does Dry Needling help? During the dry needling process, chemicals released from the body cause healing effects and help with the reversal of ischaemia by relaxing the muscle and increasing the blood flow to the area and oxygen saturation of the muscle (Kubo et al.,2010). These chemicals can also inhibit pain signals from the body to the brain helping to reduce pain and increase relaxation. As the needle is twisted or moved when inserted, it stretches the fascial tissue. This all helps with the recovery of the muscle affected by the trigger point. Dry needling is a way to help release myofascial tension, ease pain (Morihisa et al., 2016, Kietrys et al., 2013), and support tissue healing.

What conditions can Dry Needling help?

Injuries can affect amateur and professional golfers, causing reduced performance or time away from playing and practising. The average amount of missed practice or competition is around 4.0–5.2 weeks (Murray et al., 2016). Therefore it is important to understand these injuries and what causes them in order to be able to treat and ultimately prevent them. This blog will discuss some of the most common injuries golfers may experience.

Lower back pain

Golfers and Tennis Elbow

Another common injury in golfers is elbow tendinopathy. ‘Golfers elbow’ is also known as medial epicondylitis and is an overuse condition of the common flexor tendon situated on the medial aspect (inner side) of the elbow. ‘Tennis elbow’ a.k.a lateral epicondylitis affects the extensor tendons on the lateral side (outer side) of the elbow. Golfers can suffer from both these conditions, and more commonly tennis elbow! Due to the repetitive nature of swinging a golf club these tendons are put under stress and used repeatedly causing irritation and inflammation. It can also be due to faulty swinging technique and gripping too tightly.

Wrist Pain

Wrist pain is at high prevalence among golfers, especially those in their 30’s (Batt,1992). Injuries at the wrist include ligament sprains, tendonitis and possibility of fractures to the hamate bone (one of the carpal bones found in the hand and wrist). These tend to occur due to reduced range of motion and weakness at the wrist joint combined with the repeated, high speed swing placing stress through the wrist joint, and especially if players tend to over extend or cock their lead wrist.

Shoulder Pain

Shoulder pain, most commonly rotator cuff injuries, is one of the top injuries for golfers. The rotator cuff is a group of muscles that surrounds and supports the shoulder joint. During the back-swing and follow through of a golf swing these muscles are some of the most active in the upper body (McHardy et al., 2005). Rotator cuff injuries include tendinitis or tears and may involve the nearby bursa and can be caused by overload and repetitive movements or a poorly executed swing. Golfers with weak rotator cuff muscles and elderly players are more susceptible to rotator cuff injuries (Batt,1992). Shoulder impingement and damage to the acromioclavicular joint are also common.

Knee Injuries

Knee injuries, such as ligament strains and tears and meniscus (cartilage) tears are common injuries for golfers. Due to the twisting movement of a golf swing, rotational and compressive forces are placed on the knee joint. Most commonly the medial collateral ligament (found on the inner side of your knee) can be damaged. Osteoarthritis of the knee may also cause pain during a round of golf.