On Track Physiotherapy
Dry Needling in Ann Arbor
Maximize Recovery and Return to Activity with Dry Needling at On Track Physiotherapy
Are painful “knots” in your muscles limiting your ability to live actively and play your favorite sports? Do injuries take far too long to heal? At On Track Physiotherapy, our highly experienced physical therapists use an advanced technique called dry needling to reduce pain, speed healing, enhance muscle relaxation, and get you back in the game. This precision needling treatment targets tight, irritated trigger points in muscles that contribute to discomfort, movement impairment, and slow injury recovery. By stimulating these problematic points, we rapidly relieve muscle tension, restore range of motion, decrease overall pain sensations, and accelerate the body’s natural healing abilities.
If you’re an athlete or weekend warrior hoping to find lasting relief from nagging injuries and return to an active lifestyle free from restrictive, painful muscle tension holding you back, dry needling may help you achieve your goals perhaps faster than you thought possible.
How Dry Needling Helps Busy, Active People Regain Comfort and Performance
Life in constant pain is demoralizing. Small injuries turn serious when muscles fail to properly heal and relax. Activities you used to love feel impossible. Rather than masking pain with medication, what if you could pinpoint and deactivate the very muscle trigger points sustaining discomfort? That’s precisely what our exceptionally trained therapists provide through dry needling. We exhaustively examine your condition, honing in on irritable, contracted muscle fibers. Ultra-thin acupuncture needles are then expertly inserted into trigger points in muscles associated with your symptoms. This stimulation encourages tight tissues to unwind while triggering the body’s natural pain modulation.
Relieving these stubborn knots reduces localized pain, restores range of motion, resolves muscle tension and often accelerates injury healing – helping you make tangible progress session by session. You don’t need to silently suffer. Regardless of whether you’re struggling with back, neck, shoulder, knee, or other joint or muscle troubles, dry needling can be the solution that gets you off the sidelines for good. BOOK A SESSION to see why athletes around Ann Arbor trust On Track Physiotherapy to optimize their performance.
Who Can Benefit from Dry Needling Physical Therapy?
Dry needling offers life-changing pain relief and functional improvements for active adults struggling with:
- Recurring musculoskeletal injuries (sprains, strains, tendinitis)
- Chronic tightness and soreness limiting mobility
- Persistent trigger points failing to resolve with massage/stretching
- Postural dysfunctions contributing to discomfort
- Recently cleared joint replacements overdue for a mobility boost
Whether you’re missing out on your favorite sport due to an old injury or just wish long days weren’t so painful, dry needling can get you back on track. As former athletes and lifelong fitness enthusiasts ourselves, we understand the immense frustration that comes from physical setbacks preventing activity participation. Let us help you overcome what’s been holding you back.
What Patients Love About Dry Needling Physical Therapy
Helping active adults achieve pain-free lifestyles with optimal physical function motivates everything we do. Patients love dry needling therapy because it:
- Provides Lightning-Fast Pain Relief
By targeting local trigger points, dry needling can completely resolve muscle soreness and debilitating joint/nerve symptoms surprisingly fast – often with just 1-3 sessions. Patients describe the technique as extremely effective for both chronic and acute pain. - Speeds Injury Healing
Studies demonstrate dry needling enhances blood flow to injured muscle tissues. Patients report substantially faster healing times after integrating dry needling into their post-injury rehab compared to rest/medication alone. - Improves Flexibility and Mobility
Dry needling relaxes even the tightest, most spasmed muscles causing stiffness/inflexibility. Patients describe regaining a smooth, pain-free range of motion allowing activities like overhead reaching, bending to tie shoes, etc. without difficulty. - Reduces the Need for Medication
Many patients decrease reliance on pain medication by adding dry needling into treatment. Needling’s direct action on local trigger points generates profoundly effective analgesia.
Frequently Asked Dry Needling Questions
Wondering if dry needling physical therapy might be right for you? Here are answers to some of our most commonly asked questions:
What Conditions Can Dry Needling Help?
Dry needling effectively treats muscle pain/dysfunction contributing to numerous conditions including:
- Joint pain (knee, hip, shoulder, spine, etc.)
- Muscle strains and tears
- Tendinitis
- Carpal/cubital tunnel syndromes
- Tension headaches
- Post-surgical/post-replacement stiffness
If painful trigger points are impairing tissue healing or limiting function, dry needling can likely help resolve symptoms.
Who Is a Good Candidate?
Nearly all adults can safely undergo dry needling for pain relief. The technique offers excellent outcomes for active individuals committed to overcoming movement limitations. Ideal candidates include athletes/weekend warriors recovering from injury and those struggling with activity restrictions from chronic tightness and discomfort. Patients must inform therapists of all health conditions and provide clearance from other care providers if requested.
How Painful Is Dry Needling Therapy?
Most patients describe mild discomfort, primarily from muscle twitching as tissues release, subsiding shortly after treatment ends. Discomfort during needling itself is generally no worse than acupuncture. Any minor soreness typically resolves within 24 hours. Patients report the profound, lasting pain relief dry needling provides vastly outweighs momentary needling sensations during appointments.
Are There People Who Should Avoid Dry Needling?
While low risk for most, dry needling is not appropriate for individuals:
- With bleeding disorders or taking blood thinners
- Who are pregnant
- With pacemakers or other electronic implants
- Suffering from psychological needle phobia
Always disclose full medical history to determine if dry needling is right for your circumstances. We’ll customize an optimal treatment plan for your goals.
Ready to ditch painkillers for rapid pain resolution? REQUEST AN APPOINTMENT to begin recovering comfort, mobility, and an active lifestyle with dry needling therapy.
Meet Your Dry Needling Specialists at On Track Physiotherapy
Our highly qualified physical therapists leverage deep expertise in injury rehabilitation, movement analysis, and dry-needling delivery to help patients actualize peak performance with minimal pain.
Dr. Morgan Kennedy, PT, DPT
TPI, FDN, CIMT, CAFS
Passionate about alternatives to pharmaceutical pain management, Dr. Morgan Kennedy focuses on natural healing modalities like dry needling to help patients regain comfort without medication dependence. Her thoughtful expertise consistently generates outstanding patient outcomes.
We can’t wait to help you finally resolve lingering discomfort and meet your activity goals! Click here now to get in touch with us.
About the Author
Imagine overcoming limitations and regaining your physical strength. Dr. Greg Schaible, a licensed Physical Therapist in Certified Strength & Conditioning and Sports Rehab, has helped countless individuals like you do just that. Practicing at On Track Physiotherapy in Ann Arbor, Dr. Greg Schaible believes in tailored care and utilizes innovative techniques to create unique solutions for each patient’s journey.