What is dry Needling and how does it differ from acupuncture?

Dry needling is a form of therapy performed by physical therapists using small, monofilament needles inserted into muscle, tendon, ligament or fascia to stimulate a healing response in painful musculoskeletal conditions.

Dry needling can: 

• Release trigger points (taut bands) in muscle tissue that cause pain, muscle spasm, and radicular symptoms

• Increase blood flow and circulation/  Promote tissue healing

• Reverse Chronic Pain Patterns Dry needling can interrupt pain signals to and from the brain, causing a positive chemical change in the surrounding tissue 

• Relieve Headaches and TMJ-related pain

• HOW DOES DRY NEEDLING WORK and HOW DOES IT DIFFER FROM ACUPUNCTURE?

• Dry Needling and acupuncture both use monofilament needles of varied length and width.

  With dry needling, they are used to release trigger points in muscles and tendons. With acupuncture, they are used to cause systemic change in the body.

• Dry needling is based on trigger point therapy, while acupuncture follows pathways in the body, called Meridians (“energy channels”).

  Acupuncture is also based on Chinese Medicine/ claims to balance physical, spiritual and emotional imbalances.

  Dry needling is used to release trigger points via a local twitch response in the muscle. Once the trigger point is released, the muscle can begin to return to normal length and function. The normal microtrauma caused by the needling stimulates a healing environment in the surrounding tissue.

• Dry needling combined with electrical stimulation has been shown to reverse centrally-mediated pain.

• (See, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3201653/)

• WHAT DIAGNOSES CAN BE TREATED WITH DRY NEEDLING?

  These are some of the many diagnoses that can be treated with dry needling:

• • Neck pain and upper extremity radicular symptoms (numbness and tingling in hands and/or arm)

  • Headaches 

  • Sciatica 

  • Shoulder impingement 

  • Tennis elbow 

  • Low Back Pain 

  • Plantar Fasciitis 

  • Patellofemoral Pain 

  • Achilles tendinosis

  WHAT IS INVOLVED IN A TYPICAL DRY NEEDLING SESSION?

  After being evaluated by a physical therapist, the therapist determines the location or area of the body to be dry-needled. Treatment can usually be completed in about 30 minutes and is often followed by heat or ice and /or specific exercises to re-train the affected muscles.

Three Things You Might Not Know About Physical Therapy

As the U.S. healthcare system continues to transform, it’s important for patients to know their options and actively manage their own health and well-being. And a big part of that is knowing which healthcare professional is the best fit and why. When it comes to injury and illness, patients often don’t know the many ways that physical therapists are trained to help relieve symptoms, improve function and prevent further disability.

1. PTs often specialize in certain clinical areas

Similar to physicians, physical therapists can choose to specialize in certain areas and the options are vast. In fact, physical therapy’s scope reaches well beyond the commonly known sports-related injury. Some of the many areas physical therapists may have experience, advanced training or certification in include cardiovascular and pulmonary conditions, pediatrics, geriatrics, women’s health, oncology, wound management and neurology.

2. PTs practice in a variety of settings. Beyond outpatient clinics

—which can be part of a healthcare system or private practices like our own—physical therapists work in hospitals, nursing homes, sports and fitness facilities, schools, work settings, home health agencies, rehab hospitals and in the home. PTs work in the settings that align with their background, training and experience to draw on specific skills such as teaching proper body mechanics on the job or transferring a patient from the bed to a chair in an acute setting.

3. PTs help patients prevent injuries

Although physical therapists are widely known for helping patients regain strength and mobility following an injury or surgical procedure, the rehab professionals can also diagnose potential problems before they occur. With a thorough patient history and evaluation, PTs are experts in recognizing limitations, weaknesses and imbalances that could lead to series injuries or disabling conditions down the line.

Physical therapists are trained to help people of all ages with a range of conditions but what therapists specialize in may vary by practice setting or years of experience. With this knowledge, patients are better equipped to find the right therapist to treat their injuries or illnesses. No matter what setting physical therapists work in or what they specialize in, they share a common goal: To help patients recover from illness or injury and to maintain or regain safe, functional mobility.

In our office we have therapist specialists in orthopedics, manual therapy techniques, and dry needling. We treat a variety of conditions ranging from overuse and traumatic type injuries to post-operative rehabilitation care.

Please call for an appointment to discuss how we can assist you in achieving your goals at 804-340-1193.

Experiencing Dizziness?

Did you know?

• 40% of Americans experience some form of dizziness

• 35% of adults 40 years and older experience dizziness

• Dizziness is the #3 reason adults 65 years and older seek medical care and the #1 reason adults 70 years and older seek medical care

• 50% of adults 65 years and older with complaints of dizziness develop BPPV

• BPPV is a cause of vertigo/dizziness that can be treated in 1-2 physical therapy sessions

What is “Dizziness” or “Vertigo”?

Vertigo is defined as an abnormal sense of movement or orientation. This can include dizziness, feelings of spinning or swaying, moving when you are not, abnormal sense of upright, disequilibrium, and imbalance. These symptoms can come on gradually, or they may have a sudden onset.

What Causes Dizziness?

There are many reasons why a person may be feeling dizzy or off balance. Some of these include central problems of the brain or nerves, migraines, and vestibular system disorders (inner ear disorders). There are a variety of diagnostic tests to determine causative factors and each case of dizziness is unique.

What are the Treatment Options?

There are a variety of treatments options available for dizziness or vertigo. Physicians, Audiologists, Optometrists, Neurologists, and even physical therapists can help determine which treatment options are best for you based on your specific case. Exercise can be a great tool to help ease the symptoms of dizziness and vertigo.

How Can Physical Therapy Help?

Physical therapy can help determine the root cause of dizziness and imbalance. There are a variety of exercises that a physical therapist can prescribe to help with vision/eye movements, movement of head and neck, trunk stability, and overall balance. BPPV is a common cause of dizziness, and can be treated in 1-2 sessions!

Your vestibular system and inner ear are complex systems! But, they are very resilient systems, able to adapt, and respond well to treatment.

**If you have questions, are experiencing symptoms of dizziness, or know someone experiencing dizziness give us a call at Richmond Physical Therapy so we can help!

Why Private Practice?

Did you know that Richmond Physical Therapy is owned by a physical therapist? Do you know why we believe being an independent practice is right for our patients and for us? Our primary mission is to provide evidence-based treatment and education in lifelong self-care. We have no affiliation with a hospital or physician group and are truly an independent small business.

Why do we feel being independent is right for us and our patients? We have no ill will towards hospital organizations or large physician practice groups. In fact, we work closely with physicians from across the state to provide each patient with a high level of care. However, we feel there are a few reasons that may set apart our private, outpatient, physical therapy clinic from others.

Even though we are private, we still have excellent relationships with physicians in community-based groups and large university hospitals.Some of these relationships have been ongoing for over 25 years and continue to benefit our patients. We have easy access to these physicians and can easily contact them directly to discuss your case or obtain any necessary medical records. Even though we are a “private” practice, we have established ourselves in the community as providing excellent care as evidenced by the continued referrals from these larger organizations.

We feel the main benefit of our private physical therapy practice is that all of our services are provided “in-house.” Our schedulers, administrative staff, therapists, and owner are all within feet of one another regularly. And we interact daily to resolve any and all concerns. Patient issues are solved immediately by going directly to the therapist, clinic director, or owner as needed.

Our patients are our most important referral source. We want to meet your every need from the beginning of your care to the end. We make ease of scheduling a priority, and all patients are offered an appointment within 48 business hours of their phone call. We have our own billing staff who are experts in understanding the idiosyncrasies of health insurance. Our staff will teach you all you need to know about your plan.

Our practice is about taking care of our patients from their first contact with us until the final bill is paid. With over 50 years total of private physical therapy care under our belts, you will be very pleased with your experience with us. And, as a private practice, the owner is merely a phone call or email away if you need him.