Dry Needling for Muscle Knots: How It Loosens Tight Muscles Effectively
Muscle knots are one of the most painful barriers to moving freely without pain or limitation. When muscles shorten and fail to relax, they develop knots that can be very resistant to care. While massage can help relax muscles, your deepest knots will likely return within days – or even hours.
Dry needling can target your muscle knots to decrease tension using proven physiological mechanisms to give you results that last, changing the way your body functions.
If you've struggled to relieve muscle knots, learn how dry needling loosens tight muscles by addressing their root causes.
Why Do Muscle Knots (Trigger Points) Form?
When muscles form knots, it's because localized muscle fibers are unable to relax. They stay in a contracted state, preventing blood flow to the area and ultimately causing a knot to form.
Due to decreased circulation, knots can cause a constant burning or aching sensation in the affected muscle. Not only will you feel pain where the knot is located, but muscle knots can cause pain in seemingly unrelated parts of your body.
When the muscles in your upper back (known as the upper trapezius) develop knots, you may feel tension headaches. Knots in your buttocks (aka glutes) can cause low back pain or even knee pain.
Since knots keep your muscles from relaxing, they also restrict your range of motion. Common muscles that develop knots include:
- Upper traps – Leads to neck pain and headaches
- Glutes – Causes hip tightness and low back pain
- Calves – Decreases ankle flexibility and causes foot pain
- Levator scapulae – Results in shoulder and neck pain
- Quads/hamstrings – Affects knee and hip motion
Dry Needling Creates a Local Twitch Response
Dry needling works to break up knots by causing a local twitch response. Your therapist will insert a thin filament needle into your trigger point and you will feel a quick muscle spasm.
This sensation is similar to a cramp that happens when your therapist hits the trigger point. The quick spasm is immediately followed by a release of tension in your muscle, known as your body's reset button.
Benefits of Dry Needling Include:
- Increase circulation/decrease inflammation
- Release tension in muscles immediately
- Block pain signals to the brain
- Increase range of motion long-term
Dry Needling Versus Deep Tissue Massage for Muscle Knots
Dry needling is much different than deep tissue massage. There are several reasons needling can work when massage can't.
Ability to Reach the Source of the Knot
Most massages are performed by manipulating muscles through skin, fat, and superficial muscle tissue. To affect the deeper layers, massage therapists use their thumbs, elbows, and knees to apply pressure and release knots.
However, there are limitations to how deep and how much pressure they can provide. Instead of working through layers of tissue, a needle allows your therapist to bypass all of the distracting tissues and reach your trigger point(s), which can be several inches into the muscle.
Speed and Duration of Treatment
While many massage therapists can provide temporary relief to your knots, some chronic knots have lasted for years. It may take several sessions before you start to feel improvement.
Needling allows many patients to feel immediate, dramatic improvement after just one session. Manual therapies slowly help your body revert back to normal function by gradually releasing muscle tension. Needling creates a faster resolution by directly affecting the trigger points.
Deep tissue massage can be quite painful since it's pushing into your muscles for an extended period of time. Dry needling offers a different kind of pain.
Needles are typically painless to insert. Most patients report that dry needling hurts less than getting an injection. When the needle hits your trigger point, you will feel a quick spasm, followed by immediate relief.
What to Expect from Dry Needling at Northern Colorado Spine & Sport
Before we begin dry needling, we assess your movement and posture to determine how trigger points are affecting you. Our goal is to decrease your pain and increase your function.
Preparing For Your Appointment
- Wear loose-fitting clothing
- Drink plenty of water
- Avoid strenuous exercise prior to your appointment
- Bring your list of medications
- Allow 60-90 minutes for your initial visit
During your treatment session, we use thin needles to target areas of your muscle that are exceptionally tight and painful. The needles only penetrate a few millimeters into your skin and most patients report either no pain or a sensation similar to getting a shot.
Once the needle hits your trigger point, you will feel a quick spasm. This is called the twitch response and means that the needle is working.
You may feel an immediate increase in flexibility and notice your pain decreasing after your session.
Ready to Have Your Knots Discovered?
If you're struggling to loosen up your muscles, dry needling may be able to help. Unlike massage or stretching, dry needling can reach deep into your muscles to precisely target trigger points for quick resolution.
At Northern Colorado Spine & Sport, we use dry needling to help our patients move pain-free. Contact our office today to schedule your consultation and experience the benefits of dry needling!
FAQs related to Dry Needling for Muscle Knots
Will I get knots back after dry needling?
Every person is different, but for most patients, dry needling provides long-lasting results. Needling causes physiological changes to address the root causes of your knots. While your body may gradually develop new knots over time, they won't continue to bother you like before.
Can you do dry needling on old injuries?
Yes! Dry needling is great for treating knots that have developed from past injuries. In many cases, injuries cause your body to move incorrectly for several years. These movement abnormalities cause trigger points to form.
Dry needling helps your muscles function normally again, even if your injury was years ago.
Is heat OK after dry needling?
While you can apply heat to your muscles to help decrease lingering pain and promote an increased range of motion, it is best to wait 24-48 hours after your treatment session. We generally don't recommend applying heat immediately after your appointment, as the localized tissue may still be tender from the procedure. If you do find yourself experiencing some post-session soreness or minor bruising, you can always use ice for the first couple of hours after your treatment to soothe the area before transitioning to heat later on.
Why is dry needling called "dry" needling?
Dry needling is "dry" because it doesn't involve any substances being placed into the body through the needle. Other types of needling inject medications or fluid into your body, which is why they are referred to as wet needling. Dry needling involves only the filament needle.
Can dry needling help headaches?
Yes, dry needling can be an effective treatment for headaches. Many people experience headaches, particularly tension headaches, as a result of knots, or trigger points, that form in the muscles of their neck and upper back. When the muscles along your upper back, neck, and even the base of your skull develop these tight knots, the tension can refer to pain in your head, leading to headaches. By performing dry needling on these specific muscles, a practitioner can help release the knots and relieve the underlying muscle tension that is causing your headache pain.
