Find Relief from Neck Pain with Dry Needling
Find Relief from Neck Pain with Dry Needling
Taryn Cohn PT, MSPT, COMT, OCS
Have you ever felt like a boulder has taken up residence in your shoulder? Had a day so stressful that it takes you two hours before your shoulders can separate themselves from your earlobes? After a few days like this you may notice that there is pain in the neck that doesn’t ever seem to go away. You may begin to realize you are no longer actually turning your head to look for oncoming traffic, but rather your entire torso. Worst-case scenario that pain that started in your neck is now down the arm and into the hand.
Increased stress, poor postural habits, lifestyle and trauma can all be reasonable culprits of neck pain and compromised mobility. Persistent or reoccurring pain can be frustrating and difficult to control if you don’t have the proper tools or professional intervention to manage your situation.
Dry needling is an excellent treatment for chronic or acute neck injury. What makes dry needling so effective is its ability to get deep into the smaller muscle fibers of the neck. The smaller muscles of the neck are designed for fine tuned movements like rotation. While the larger muscles of the neck are more there for power, like supporting the neck and head to maintain an upright position. It is with injury that these muscle groups no longer coordinate together in the manner they were designed and dysfunction begins to take place. When the restrictions in the muscles are released with dry needling it is like hitting a reset button in the system, these structures are now more receptive to exercise because they are starting from a better place. Stability and coordination in the system are going to allow for better healing and less frequency of re-occurring injury.
“After dry-needling I am just able to turn my head easier!”
