Last week, Utah finalized a law that allows physical therapists to perform trigger point dry needling.

Trigger points are essentially painful “knots” that affect the muscle’s ability to efficiently perform, and often create referral patterns of pain elsewhere in the body. Dry needling is the practice of using an acupuncture needle to release those tight bands of muscle. It is different than acupuncture in where and why the needles are placed. Acupuncturists use energetic meridian lines in order to move qi through the body, while physical therapists place the needles directly into

the “knot” of muscle in order to release and reset the muscle. The needle often causes a muscle cramping sensation, but the needle is typically only in the muscle for less than a few minutes. The immediate change in joint range of motion, decreased pain, and muscle performance is often dramatic.

Dry needling can boost the effects of the excellent muscular stability training that you are already doing at Pinnacle. Our physical therapist neighbors in Colorado have been doing dry needling for the last 8 years, and their patients have been raving about the profound effects that they have experienced. Jenn Pine, DPT just finished an intensive dry needling training and is performing dry needling at the clinic. Amy Broekemeier, DPT plans to take a course in November.