Do you ever feel those spots at the base of your neck or between your shoulder blades that when you press on them it feels like your pushing a “button of Pain”?  This is what would be described in the medical field as a Trigger Point. These spots first had a name put to them by the medical doctor of President John F. Kennedy, her name was Janet Travell. She and her colleague, Dr. David Simon, would go on to write the textbook, Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual. Trigger Points are formed when a muscle is over-worked or not working in the efficient manner it should be. When this happens, the nervous system tells the muscle to stay locked up until all things are back in place to work the right way, enter Trigger Point Dry Needling(TPDN).  Trigger Point dry needling is a therapy used on the muscle to allow for rapid reset and recovery. The procedure is quick, effective and painless and one we perform right here in our office in Columbus, OH. This procedure can be applied to all muscles and more specifically is used commonly for issues like low back pain, neck pain, headaches, shoulder pain and knee pain. Here are a few quotes from conclusions from very recent research literature:

1. “…results of this study showed one session of TPDN targeting active Trigger Points appears to reduce hyperactivity of the sympathetic nervous system and irritability of the motor endplate. TPDN seems effective at improving symptoms and deactivating active myofascial Trigger Points…”
2. “Dry needling reduces pain and changes myofascial Trigger Point status. Change in Trigger Point status is associated with a statistically and clinically significant reduction in pain. Reduction of pain is associated with improved mood, function, and level of disability.”
3. “Based on the best current available evidence (Grade A), we recommend dry needling, compared to sham or placebo, for decreasing pain immediately after treatment…”

As shown in the literature, TPDN is shown to be an effective procedure and one that can be a crucial part of a treatment plan to help speed up the process of recovery. Interested in trying dry needling? Contact our office at 614-392-2732 to get scheduled with one of our highly trained physicians.