Trigger Point Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling, or TDN, is a technique that uses a very fine needle to deactivate or shut down painful or knotted areas in your muscles. By inserting the needle into these tight areas, it elicits a twitch response or a brief contraction followed by an immediate relaxation. Because the needle can treat very deep parts of the muscle, the technique can achieve amazing pain relief, allowing for nearly any muscle in the body to be treated at greater depths. Additional benefits for TDN include:

  • Pain relief from head to toe
  • Healing of overuse injuries
  • Getting rid of knots in muscles
  • Helping muscles heal after injury
  • Releasing tight muscles
  • Speeding healing time

What to Expect During TDN

The needles used for TDN are very fine and solid, so they don’t hurt as they pass through the skin. The needle is left in the skin for a very short period of time, just long enough to relax the muscle. The procedure is then repeated in different areas until the muscle returns to its normal, relaxed state.

The first session will focus on a few muscles that are key to your problem. These key areas can give you excellent relief. After the first session, you’ll be sore in the way that you would feel after too much activity. The muscle will feel fatigued, and the soreness can last from a few hours to 1 – 2 days but should not interfere with your everyday activities. We encourage you to be active during this time to keep the soreness to a minimum. After a day or so, you’ll experience a new feeling of less pain and tightness. Subsequent treatments will target more specific areas to fine-tune the effect. You should expect to feel a difference after only 1 – 2 sessions.

TDN is currently offered at our Brookfield – Physical Therapy and New Berlin locations as shared below. To learn more about TDN or the other treatments offered through our physical therapy service, please call (262) 395-4141 or request an appointment online.

Brookfield – Physical Therapy
2205 N. Calhoun Road, #17, Brookfield, WI 53005

New Berlin – Clinic, Physical Therapy, MRI
12555 W. National Avenue, Suite 100, New Berlin, WI 53151