Dry needling, also known as trigger point therapy or intramuscular therapy.

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Dry needling is used for pain and movement impairments caused by trigger points within the muscle and fascia. A trigger point is a taut band of muscle which is tender and when touched pain can refer to other areas of the body. Dry needling involves a thin filiform needle that penetrates the skin and stimulates myofascial trigger points and muscular connective tissues.

The needles allow me to target tissues that are not manually palpable.

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Dry Needling can cause a local twitch response.

A Local Twitch response is a visible and often palpable muscle contraction after a mechanical stimulation, most commonly after dry needling or during massage. A local twitch response is an involuntary quick twitch of the muscle that is caused by a spinal reflex. If you have ever had Dry Needling before, it is the quick and sometimes uncomfortable "reset" within the muscle belly. The pistoning method is a quick "in and out" of the needle within a taut band of muscle until a local twitch response is elicited.

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Once a local twitch response occurs it causes a decrease in the neurological activity of the nerve at a possible trigger point.