Dry Needling Offers Relief For Chronic Low Back Pain
Chronic low back pain is an all too common reality in the daily life of most individuals. According to research by Yang, on average one in four Americans experience chronic low back pain. There are many treatments available – both within a traditional medical clinic and with alternative medicine. Dry needling is an alternative therapy that has been shown to help relief chronic low back pain.
Dry needling has been seen to reduce pain and increase mobility in many low back pain sufferers. This pain reduction is due to application of tiny needles into different parts certain muscles – stimulating the brain and increasing blood flow. Needles can be inserted into different parts of the muscle belly or tendons. However, a common place of application are trigger points.
Trigger points are sensitive areas of tight muscle bands. These can form after injuries, overuse, or chronic repetitive activities. When pressure is applied to trigger points pain can occur locally or can shoot to different parts of the body.
When a needle is inserted into a trigger point, muscle belly, or tendon, blood flow is drawn to the area. This results in relaxation of the muscle fibers in a trigger point and healing of muscle tissue. According to a systematic review in 2018, it was determined that dry needling was proven effective in “alleviating pain intensity and functional disability.” Therefore dry needling was effective in helping relieve pain and increase the ability of individuals to perform their normal daily activities without pain.
The results of the study by Yang also found that chronic low back pain is often due to “work- family imbalance, exposure to a hostile work environment, job insecurity, long work hours, and certain occupation groups.” Therefore in addition to pursuing dry needling other stress relieving measures, nutritional intervention, and lifestyle factors should be evaluated.
If you suffer from chronic low back pain, dry needling may be an alternative therapy that can be utilized to find relief.
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