functional dry needling

FDN

Functional dry needling (FDN) is a treatment for muscular tightness and spasm.

​

Trigger points (“knots”) or spasms in muscles develop from an injury, poor posture or a disease process. Trigger points are formed from compression and irritation of the nerves exiting the spine. Muscle banding and tightness can occur anywhere along their pathway and innervation distribution. When the nerves are irritated, they can cause a protective spasm to any of the muscles along their pathway.

​

Dry needling is the use of thin, small, sterile needles to de-activate trigger points in the muscles that cause a replication of the pain pattern. The muscles then contract and release. This contracting and releasing improves muscle flexibility, removes the source of irritation, promotes healing (produces local inflammation which is necessary to produce healing), and decreases the spontaneous electrical activity at the trigger points. It is not traditional acupuncture, energy treatment or sham treatment.

​

Trigger point dry needling is an appropriate adjunctive treatment for all musculoskeletal dysfunctions. Patients do commonly report an immediate pain reduction and/or elimination after eliciting a local twitch response, but may experience soreness for one to two days post-treatment.

​

Physical therapists who have undergone substantial training in the areas of reducing the incidence and severity of physical disability, movement dysfunction, bodily malfunction, and pain are licensed to perform this skill. Incorporating FDN with other manual therapy and rehabilitative methods has been shown to be very effective in improving and hastening outcomes.

​

**Evolution Physical Therapy only offers this treatment in Connecticut and Colorado.