What is Dry Needling?

Dry needling involves the use of thin, sterile needles inserted into myofascial trigger points—knots or tight bands in your muscles. This technique aims to release muscle tension, reduce pain, and improve mobility. Unlike acupuncture, which is rooted in traditional Chinese medicine, dry needling is based on modern Western medicine and focuses on anatomy and neurophysiology.

For those recovering from work or auto accidents in Everett, dry needling can address chronic pain, stiffness, and limited mobility often associated with these types of injuries. It’s frequently included as part of a comprehensive physical therapy program to help injured individuals regain their strength and functionality.

How Effective is Dry Needling?

Recent studies provide solid evidence that dry needling is effective for pain relief and recovery:

1. Pain Relief:
   A 2023 review published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine confirmed that dry needling is highly effective in reducing pain in conditions like neck pain, shoulder pain, and temporomandibular joint disorders. It’s noted that dry needling provides significant short-term pain relief compared to no treatment or sham interventions. (Source)
2. Improved Functionality:
   Research from the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy also supports dry needling’s effectiveness. This study found that it improves muscle functionality and reduces pain in the weeks following treatment, making it a great option for anyone in Everett recovering from sports injuries or chronic pain conditions. (Source)
3. Enhanced Mobility:
   Many patients report improved range of motion after just a few sessions. Dry needling helps by relaxing tight muscles and releasing trigger points that often restrict movement.
   (Source)

Why Choose Dry Needling in Everett, WA?

Dry needling is becoming a preferred option for injury rehab in Everett because it offers localized, targeted pain relief. Whether you’re an athlete looking to recover faster or someone dealing with chronic pain, dry needling could help you get back to your daily routine more quickly. Clinics and physical therapy centers like Everett Spine and Rehab combine dry needling with other therapies like massage, exercise, and chiropractic care to maximize results.

Is Dry Needling Right for You?

While dry needling is effective for short-term pain relief, it’s often most beneficial when combined with other treatments. For example:

• Auto and Work Injury Rehab: If you’ve suffered a workplace injury or were involved in a car accident, dry needling can help alleviate pain and release tension in muscles affected by the trauma. It’s often incorporated into physical therapy plans to improve mobility and support recovery.

• Sports Injuries: Athletes in Everett can benefit from dry needling as part of a physical therapy plan to recover from strains or sprains.
• Chronic Pain: If you’re dealing with ongoing issues like neck pain or lower back pain, dry needling can help release tight muscles and reduce discomfort.
• Post-Surgery Rehab: Many physical therapists in Everett recommend dry needling to help patients regain mobility and reduce muscle tension after surgery.

Considerations and Safety

If you’re thinking about trying dry needling in Everett, here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Professional Practitioners: Ensure the practitioner is licensed and experienced in dry needling techniques.
2. Complementary Therapies: Pairing dry needling with other therapies like massage, exercise, or chiropractic care can amplify the benefits.
3. Short- vs. Long-Term Benefits: While dry needling offers effective short-term pain relief, research is still ongoing to assess its long-term impact. (Source)

Where to Find Dry Needling in Everett, WA

Several clinics and physical therapy centers in Everett specialize in dry needling. When choosing a provider, look for one with a strong reputation and reviews from satisfied clients. Whether you’re recovering from an injury, managing chronic pain, or looking to improve your mobility, dry needling could be the solution you’ve been searching for.

Conclusion

Dry needling has proven to be an effective therapy for pain relief and injury rehab, especially when combined with other treatments. For those in Everett, WA, this innovative approach could help you recover faster, reduce pain, and improve your quality of life. To learn more or schedule your first session, reach out to a local physical therapy center offering dry needling services.

By incorporating dry needling into your injury rehab plan, you’ll be taking an important step toward achieving lasting recovery. Whether it’s for sports injuries, post-surgical care, or chronic pain, dry needling in Everett is worth considering.

Trigger point injections can offer several benefits to individuals experiencing muscle pain and discomfort caused by trigger points. Work or auto injuries can cause pain in trigger points. Injuries such as repetitive strain or trauma from accidents can lead to muscle tension and the development of trigger points, which may cause localized pain and referred pain to other areas of the body. Further, those with myofascial pain syndrome may benefit from TPI. Overall, these injections are particularly beneficial when other conservative treatments have been ineffective. TPI works to relax the tense muscle fibers, alleviate pain, and improve mobility.

Trigger Point Injection Benefits

Firstly, trigger point injections provide localized relief by directly targeting the tense muscle knots or trigger points. The injection of a local anesthetic numbs the area, reducing pain signals sent to the brain and providing immediate pain relief. Additionally, if a corticosteroid is included in the injection, it can help reduce inflammation around the trigger point, offering longer-lasting relief.

Secondly, trigger point injections can improve muscle function and mobility. By relaxing the tight muscle fibers, the injections can help restore normal muscle length and function. This, in turn, allows individuals to move more freely, perform daily activities with less discomfort, and participate in rehabilitative exercises more effectively.

What Can I Expect During a TPI Session?

TPI is typically an outpatient procedure performed in a clinic or medical office. The process starts with the patient assuming a comfortable position. The healthcare provider may first locate the trigger point by palpation or using ultrasound guidance. Once identified, the skin overlying the trigger point is sterilized.

During a TPI, a qualified healthcare professional, often a physician or pain specialist, uses a thin needle to inject a local anesthetic, such as lidocaine, directly into the trigger point. You may experience a brief increase in pain when the tip of the needle touches the trigger point, though the pain typically resides quickly.

Sometimes, a corticosteroid may also be injected to reduce inflammation and provide longer-lasting relief.

TPI in Everett, Washington and Snohomish County

Looking for pain relief using TPI? Those in Everett can visit Everett Spine & Rehab for a consultation and evaluation. We will review your health and condition and determine the best course of action for your pain, which may include TPI. Please contact us today to learn more: 425-347-8614

Sources:

Aafp.org
My.clevelandclinic.org
mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org
openai.com

While many folks today are telecommuting if they can due to the global health crisis, some people still have job sites or a cubical to commute to for work. Companies are supposed to adhere to safety protocols and training but at the end of the day, things still can happen. And during this trying time some companies are able to help workers where they are after an injury, and come to them.

When you get injured at work no matter how minor it is, it could cause serious problems later on.  From slipping on a wet floor and hurting your legs and feet to having something falls off a shelf onto your head in a stock room, your cubicle cabinet or even at a job site. There are also incidences where workers could be let into a building too early after chemicals are sprayed—you could inhale toxic substances which are extremely hazardous to your health.

Some types of common workplace injuries caused by:

• Slipping
• Tripping
• Falling
• Caught in machinery
• Car accidents
• Explosions
• Fires
• Struck by an object
• Repetitive motion injuries or over exertion from tasks
• Toxic air related injuries (older buildings can have mold issues, lead paint—also spraying chemicals in or around the building)
• Blood born pathogens (occupational hazards mostly, like in healthcare settings, usually)

Report it, always and get to an emergency clinic or local doctor ASAP.

No matter what injury or incident that occurs that can be a health hazard, you should always report it as soon as possible to your supervisor or someone on duty.  And of course, it’s even better if you have a witness. Even if you feel okay after the injury happens, you should still go to an emergency clinic, emergency room at the nearest hospital or your own doctor when it happens.  You need to get an evaluation to see if you need treatment or other assistance from a specialist doctor or a physical therapist.

You may need physical therapy to improve your injury

This way, you’ll have covered all your bases if something should happen later to your health.  Sometimes day, weeks, even months later an injury could get worse or you become sick in some other way.  While many injuries may seem minor, however, they could later on need surgery or some kind of rehab with physical therapy intervention—and many times this kind of program should start fairly soon after the injury.

Do you really need physical therapy (PT) and what is looked at?

While not every injury needs physical therapy, you may need it depending on your injury sustained—a doctor or specialist may recommend you seeing someone for assistance to get better.  When you have a muskoskeletal injury a variety of items are looked at:

• Bones
• Ligaments
• Joints
• Nerves
• Muscles
• Vascular system

Typically, any injury or accident that affected your body—like your head, neck, lower back, legs, shoulders, arms, hands, knees, and feet, could potentially benefit from a PT program. There are PT specialists who work with issues such as office place safety and ergonomics as well, if your injury warrants this kind of assistance.

You may still need to see an orthopedic doctor or surgeon to better understand your injury.  While CT scans, X-rays, MRIs are effective at diagnosis, they are more hazardous to health.  Ultrasounds are being used more and are less invasive imagery for the patient and can many times be more effective; it does need to be done by an ultrasound technician with more muskoskeletal experience.

Also, if needed, based on your injury your PT group may offer speech therapy or other specific kinds of needs—but this may be out of the general PT scope and may lead you to need other kinds of therapy specialists.  Most of the time, the typical PT therapy involved some sort of issue with your legs, arms, and sometimes head, neck and shoulder injuries.

PT is designed to help you:

• Regain motion and movement in a limb, back, neck and more
• Regain and re-train strength and abilities in injured body part or organ
• Regain the ability to walk, run etc. — like you did before and use assistance (crutches / cane / walker / wheelchair)
• Hopefully avoid surgery (not all the time)

Everything depends on the injury sustained and how severe it is and if you would benefit from assistance at a PT clinic. Even if you don’t believe you need the help, for work and medical documentation it is best to listen to your doctor or specialist because sometimes even the smallest of injuries could require surgery.

Is PT all you will need for a workplace injury?

You may need surgery. Many times therapy is the only intervention you may need for your injury, if fairly minor. If you do need surgery, you will be a PT routine after the surgery. Essentially, you need help to fully re-learn how to use your limb or other issues that has been corrected by the surgery. There are some kinds of back injuries over time that develop, that PT is better than having surgery like, lower back issues from lower spinal stenosis.

Remember, always to report the injury you sustained at the workplace or job site immediately, if possible.  Always get medical help, so you can be properly evaluated and keep all medical records.

Remember–Everett Spine & Rehab also offers expert physical therapy services.

If you’ve suffered from a fall at work, for example, the result may be a sprain, dislocated shoulder, broken bones, head injury, hip fracture, or spinal injury. Obviously, no two injuries are the same, and the same goes with their respective treatment plans. One thing for sure is that you’ll want to be able to move and work as freely as you did before your injury.

You’ve heard about “work conditioning” but what exactly is it? Work conditioning (sometimes referred to as “work hardening”) is a specific type of injury rehabilitation phase that helps you get ready to return to work. Of course, with physical therapy in general, the goal is to improve your mobility, strength, endurance and range of motion (as well as to prevent re-injury). During the work conditioning part of rehab, the therapist will create customized exercises for you that mimic your job duties so your body can become reaccustomed to those specific functions (so you safely transition back to work and perform your job as you did before). Consider it like you’re in a workplace simulation for your specific job.

Who can benefit from work conditioning?

• Police
• Firefighters
• Health care professionals
• Truck drivers
• Mechanics
• Construction workers

The amount of sessions and how long those session will be, will be determined by your physical therapist. First thing’s first, however—if you’ve suffered a work injury, seek immediate medical help! When your doctor thinks you’re ready for physical rehabilitation, please come see us! Everett Physical Therapy at 927 18^th St. SW Suite B in Everett.

Common scenarios/work situations that can cause injuries while occur on-the-job:

• Slip and fall
• Falling objects
• Overexertion
• Repetitive motion/repetitive stress
• Running into hazards
• Fires and explosions
• Vehicle-related
• Electrical shock
• Burns

Whatever the result, our goal at Everett Spine & Rehab is to help reduce or eliminate your pain, improve function and strength, and help you get back to work safely. Call us today to schedule an appointment. During your visit, we’ll conduct an assessment and help create a therapy program specifically for your condition. We look forward to helping you recover! Our office is in Everett, right next to Mill Creek and Lynnwood.

Rehabilitation with Physical Therapy, Chiropractic Treatments and More
Our team of doctors and therapists are highly trained in assessing and treating motor control, myofascial, strength dysfunctions and pain issues. Our mission is to design the most effective treatment plan that may include a combination of natural rehabilitation modalities. In addition to chiropractic adjustments, these are some of our most commonly recommended treatments for pain relief and faster healing of injuries.

Physical Therapy Services: Physical therapy helps patients heal quicker and increase muscle strength which can prevent re-injury and increase range of motion. These programs are custom designed according to each patient’s specific needs. Exercises you can perform at home are a vital aspect of most physical therapy plans.

Soft Tissue Techniques: Treatments such as trigger point therapy, massage therapy and myofascial stripping can alleviate tension, reduce muscle spasms, and increase blood flow to damaged tissues and nerves. This results in faster healing and pain relief.

Complementary Physiotherapy Modalities at Everett Spine & Rehab

We employ several physiotherapy techniques like ice therapy and moist heat in addition to manual therapies. Some other pain-free, non-invasive modalities we use to complement your treatment plan include:

Ultrasound Therapy: A handheld device using sound wave heat applied to certain injured areas to promote tissue healing and pain relief. We recommend this painless, short procedure to those with muscle and soft tissue damage, tendon and ligament injuries, excessive scar tissue or patients with bursitis or arthritis conditions.

Electrical Muscle Stimulation: Excellent for acute and chronic neck and back pain, this device uses interferential currents that speeds tissue healing and release pain-relieving endorphins.

Traction: Manual or mechanical traction helps relieve neck pain and lower back issues by decompressing the spine. Traction is a comfortable, painless procedure that reduces inflammation and pressure due to irritated, herniated and bulging discs.

If you’re suffering from pain, we can help!

Looking for a Chiropractor in Everett That Does it All?

We’re a one-stop holistic healing clinic here at Everett Spine & Rehab in Everett, WA. We have an extensive team of experienced practitioners ready to set you on track for a pain-free, healthier life. Call us today at 425-347-8614 to schedule a consultation appointment today.