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Acupuncture has been practiced for about 5000 years in China and other Asian countries. Over this long history, many complex theories and practices evolved based on religious, medical and social ideas of the time.
Acupoints were discovered when ancient practitioners found various pulse points on the body and they attributed these pulses to a vital inner life-force, called Chi. These points were thought to be connected to each other by energy “channels”, or meridians, and when needled this vital energy was balanced which helped treat disease.
This culminated in traditional Chinese medicine, an elaborate and nuanced approach to natural healing, but one that is difficult to master and is confusing to both patients and physicians. The unfortunate result is that most of us never consider this valuable therapy.
Biomedical Dry Needling is an attempt to describe the effects of needling in terms that are familiar with most doctors and patients allowing for great use and research into this safe and effective treatment.
Needling muscle trigger points (tender knots in muscle that can send pain to other areas), fascia or acupoints activates the built-in survival systems in the body. This happens “centrally” by affecting the brain and activating nervous, endocrine, immune and cardiovascular systems to normalize body function. A similar response happens locally at the needling site to desensitize and heal the injured tissues.
Although Dry Needling has effects on both musculoskeletal conditions (like back and neck pain, headaches, golfer/tennis elbow) as well as internal disorders (like stomachache), results are more consistent and predictable with muscle and joint pain. This is because the needling creates the local tissue response directly at the painful site (like an elbow). We can only affect the stomach “indirectly”, by balancing the nervous system to promote self-healing.
Pain patients need manual medicine (physiotherapy, stretch/strengthening, joint mobilization/manipulation) in addition to Dry Needling for best results.
Results from Dry Needling depend on the overall health potential of the patient and how progressed the symptoms or disease is.
Dr. Huntington practices Chiropractic, Biomedical Acupuncture and Physiotherapy in Oracle, Az. 520-896-9844 huntingtonchiro@hotmail.com.
John Huntington is a local business owner in Oracle. He is a chiropractor with many years in the community. He writes a health related article in Pinal Nugget.
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