Dry Needling St. Charles, MO

Dry Needling Greater St. Charles, MO. It’s hard to describe how devastating it can be when pain and lack of mobility in our bodies won’t allows us to engage in the activities we love, or even make basic tasks like climbing the stairs painful or even impossible. At Axes Physical Therapy in St. Charles, MO, we are constantly looking for cutting edge and evidence-backed treatments to help St. Charles, MO residents get back to their active lifestyle, or just finally live pain free again. Many of our patients have found that dry needling is a successful, simple, and vital part of a more comprehensive treatment regiment with us. We tailor all of our physical therapy services specifically to each client, their ailment, and the life they want to live. Contact Axes Physical Therapy in St. Charles, MO online or call the location closest to you and we will shepherd you away from chronic pain and back to the activities you love. Though it may be difficult to believe now, with our customized care you will be sprinting down the court, jogging through the park, or just painlessly going through daily life in no time.

What is Dry Needling? | St. Charles, MO Physical Therapy

Dry needling, also known as trigger point dry needling, employs thin filiform needles to puncture the skin and musculoskeletal tissue in order to reduce chronic pain, enhance range of motion and return you to normal function and the active lifestyle you desire. Physical therapists often use it as part of a larger treatment regiment along with posture education, stretching, electrical stimulation, and more. Dry needling should exclusively be carried out by medical professionals in St. Charles, MO, such as the qualified and experienced physical and occupational therapists at Axes.

Dry needling is often used to treat myofascial pain. The root myo refers to your muscles, while fascia refers to the connective tissue between the muscles. Myofascial pain is known as a chronic pain disorder that can affect people until they find proven and successful treatment. We’ve found that dry needling is a simple and affordable alternative for St. Charles, MO residents who are saddled by the exorbitant price of prescription meds or have not seen their symptoms improve with other treatments.

We’ve also implemented trigger point dry needling for St. Charles, MO residents with:

Soft tissue injuries
Back pain
Neck pain
Knee injuries and other joint conditions
Chronic migraines and headaches
Arthritis
Rotator cuff tears
Various sports injuries
Certain spinal issues
Certain hand injuries like carpal tunnel
Phantom pain
Sciatica

If you’ve been discouraged by treatments that just aren’t producing results and are doubting whether or not you’ll ever get back to the lifestyle and routine you love and had grown accustomed to, schedule a free screening for your injury or chronic pain with one of our professional physical and occupational therapists to see if dry needling can be implemented into a holistic and evidence-backed treatment plan with Axes.

How Does Dry Needling Work? | St. Charles, MO Physical Therapy

With dry needling, we treat patients by attacking trigger points in the body that are the root cause of your pain and lack of mobility. The pain may either be specific to the trigger point, or radiate out to affect an entire region of your body. Trigger points are segments of inflamed over-stretched or stressed muscles or tissue that impede the flow of blood to that muscle. That makes recovery more difficult. By lightly piercing or tearing damaged muscles or tissue, your Axes physical therapist in St. Charles, MO helps prompt a natural response in your nervous system; the micro-tears influence the body to go into healing mode and return blood flow, oxygen, and critical nutrients into the area. When the tissue is pierced, the needles will induce a “twitch” response by sending Axons, or nerve fibers, to the affected areathat will make the trigger point less irritable. That tells the brain to release endorphins, which naturally reduces pain and even improves happiness.

Dry Needling St. Charles, MO | Pain Management | Trigger Point Dry Needling Near St. Charles

Frequently Asked Questions: Trigger Point Dry Needling in St. Charles, MO

Is Dry Needling Painful?

The needles used in dry needling are eight times thinner than needles used for injections, so many of our St. Charles, MO patients don’t even notice them pierce the skin. You may feel some light irritation from the twitch response, but it lasts for less than two seconds and is a signal that dry needling is working. You may feel some dull aches in the area for the first day or two, but after that, you should start noticing improvements in pain and mobility, if you haven’t already.

Is Dry Needling Safe?

When it’s done by experienced physical therapists, there is absolutely no risk. team in St. Charles, MO is made up of knowledgeable professionals with a thorough understanding of the anatomy of the musculoskeletal system.

Is Dry Needling Really Effective?

Absolutely, especially when it is part of a larger, comprehensive physical therapy regiment. At Axes, our St. Charles, MO physical therapists only use techniques and practices that we know are effective because of our experience and extensive medical and academic studies. Studies show that trigger point dry needling effectively reduces pain and improves function.

How Long Do The Needles Stay in For? How Deep They Go?

We base that on you, your level of pain, lack of function, and the affected muscle area. Some piercings will be incredibly shallow and the needles will be consistently moved and changed out. In other cases, the needles will stay in for a few minutes and penetrate deep into the muscle, as often dry needling is the most effective way to manipulate harder to reach muscles and tissue. Your entire experience at Axes will be based exclusively on what is best for you.

How Many Sessions Will I Need?

Again, that depends on you. Most patients need anywhere from one to six sessions to reap the full benefits. We’ll tailor your experience to you to get you the maximum benefit and safely return you to doing what you love most.

How Quickly Will I See Results With Dry Needling?

Some St. Charles, MO clients feel immediate relief, while others have to wait a day or two after their first appointment.

Isn’t Dry Needling Just the Same as Acupuncture?

Not really. Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese medical practice that aims to balance a patient’s “life force.” Dry needling is based on Western medicine and has only reached widespread appeal in the last couple decades.

Will My Insurance Cover Dry Needling?

That depends on your particular insurance plan. At Axes, we believe everyone should have access to the effective and evidence-backed physical therapy they need to live without pain and get back to the active lifestyle they’re accustomed to. We are more than happy to go over your insurance plan and determine if physical therapy is included in your coverage.

Some of the other services we offer in St. Charles, MO are:

Dry Needling St. Charles, MO | Pain Management | Trigger Point Dry Needling Near St. Charles

Trigger Point Dry Needling in St. Charles, MO | Axes Physical Therapy

Many of our patients come to us as their last resort because, after all sorts of medication and other treatments, they still just can’t find relief. At Axes, our qualified and experienced physical in St. Charles, MO work with you as a team to implement a customized treatment plan that we’ve seen be successful with our own eyes. We’ve committed our practice to reducing and eliminating pain, restoring mobility, and getting you back to the activities you love most, whether that hitting a home run on your local softball team, dominating your local pickleball league, or just being able to go about your day without feeling any pain. Reach out to a knowledgeable St. Charles, MO physical therapist online or call the location nearest you.