Dry needling technique may help muscle pain

With the Bix7 race just two days away, runners are preparing for the day.

Rose Ripslinger will be participating in the race for the first time.

She has dealt with multiple surgeries and injuries on her left leg and needed something to provide relief for the pain after physical therapy wasn’t cutting it for her. That’s when she turned to dry needling.

Dry needling is a process where needles go in to the muscles with the goal to help provide relief.

“You have some changes in the muscle mobility so you can see changes in range of motion, strength,” said physical therapist Meghan Bucanan. “You have an increase in blood flow to the area from the needling. It also is like a reset to the nervous system. You can get pain relief from it.”

Bucanan works at ORA Orthopedics where they have been using this technique for about one year.

The treatment isn’t limited to runners.

“Anyone can do this,” Bucanan said. “Where we see the most effect and the greatest change is for somebody who has a muscular impairment.”

Ripslinger had four needles put in her quad muscles.

Wires are hooked up to the needles for electric stimulation, which makes the muscle contract. This allows for blood to flow with the hopes of the patient feeling better.

“Immediately, I stretched my quad,” Ripslinger said. “I could stretch it just the same as this leg, which it was not like that right before we did the treatment.”

The needles are small in diameter. The length of them changes depending on what body part they are going in to.

Ripslinger said the needles don’t bother her.

“It’s really a pretty painless process,” she said. “It’s just a little bit uncomfortable, but I think it’s way worth it.”