Trigger Point Therapy – Dry Needling
Manual Treatment and Dry Needling

What is it?

Myofascial pain points, also known as Trigger Points, are sensitive points usually found in a taut band of muscle or its fascia. They hurt locally when palpated or pressed but can also cause pain and symptoms such as numbness elsewhere in the body. This means they can mimic other conditions even when the corresponding disorder is absent: for example, headache, pain along the arm — cervicobrachial syndrome — severe lower back pain, sciatic pain or the pain of a meniscal injury.
Trigger Points cause muscle imbalances, muscle tension and fatigue. These can activate further points and create additional movement dysfunction. Conventional diagnostic imaging examinations cannot show Trigger Points, but a physiotherapist can identify them through physical examination.
Trigger Points may be activated by injury, intense repetitive movements, lack of rest, incorrect technique or biomechanics during daily activities or sport, prolonged poor posture, temperature changes, immobilisation, hormonal disturbances, and excessive or unfamiliar exercise. Treatment approaches for releasing Trigger Points include Manual Trigger Point Therapy using ischaemic pressure and Dry Needling Therapy — intramuscular stimulation.

What are the benefits?

Trigger Point treatment immediately reduces muscle tension and myofascial stiffness, improving mobility and flexibility. It also reduces pain, with patients feeling immediate relief in the symptomatic area. This may remove the need for pain medication.

Manual treatment, with or without instruments, is painless. Dry needling, in which a needle enters the muscle, is minimally invasive and may cause mild soreness for 1–2 days, but the rapid relief is remarkable. Treatment can reduce pain in neck pain with headache, lower back pain, sports injuries accompanied by marked muscle tension, osteoarthritis, neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, fibromyalgia and other conditions.