Dry Needling
A powerful, time-efficient and effective treatment tool used within a plan designed specifically for you.
Maybe you have a muscle that always feels tight, pain that keeps returning, or an area that has not responded the way you hoped to massage, stretching, or exercise.
Dry needling may be one tool that helps.
At Texas Pelvic Health, dry needling is never a cookie-cutter treatment that every patient receives. We decide whether to use it based on the person in front of us, the symptoms you are experiencing, what we find during your examination, your goals, and your personal preferences.
Dry needling can be incredibly effective and time-efficient when it is used in the right context. However, it is never required. If you are afraid of needles or simply do not want dry needling, you can still receive effective, individualized physical therapy treatment.
What Is Dry Needling?
Dry needling uses a thin, sterile needle similar to the type of needle used in acupuncture. Nothing is injected into the body, which is why it is called “dry” needling.
Although the needles look similar, dry needling and acupuncture are not the same treatment. Acupuncture traditionally places needles according to meridian lines.
Physical therapists performing dry needling use their knowledge of anatomy and findings from your examination to target muscles, nerves, tendons, ligaments, or motor end plates, which are the areas where nerves meet muscles.
Depending on your symptoms and treatment goals, a needle may be placed into the belly of a muscle, near a motor end plate, or into another carefully selected area. This allows us to reach deeper tissues than we can typically reach through massage or cupping alone.
Dry needling may help decrease pain and muscle tension, improve mobility, and make it easier to move or exercise more comfortably.
It can also be used as part of a larger plan for chronic pain and nervous-system regulation.
Dry Needling Is a Tool, Not the Entire Treatment Plan
The most important part of dry needling is knowing when, where, and why to use it. That is why we generally recommend beginning with a full physical therapy evaluation. Dry needling might be an excellent option for one patient and completely unnecessary for another patient with similar symptoms.
Your therapist considers:
The pain or symptoms you are experiencing
Findings from your individualized examination
Your medical and treatment history
The severity and irritability of your symptoms
How your nervous system appears to be responding
Whether you have received dry needling before
Your goals for physical therapy
Your comfort level and personal preference
This clinical reasoning helps us use dry needling where it fits instead of treating it as a one-size-fits-all solution.
You do not have to have dry needling to benefit from physical therapy. It is simply one of the tools our therapists may use to help you progress more efficiently when it is appropriate for you.
What Can Dry Needling Help Treat?
Dry needling can be incorporated into treatment for many different types of pain, muscle tension, movement limitations, and pelvic health concerns.
Some of the most common symptoms and conditions we use dry needling to address include:
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Neck and shoulder tension
Headaches and migraines
Jaw pain
Low back pain
Hip pain
Tailbone pain
Muscle tightness and trigger points
Sports-related pain and injuries
Groin injuries
Scar pain, sensitivity, or restriction
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Pelvic pain
Pelvic floor muscle tension
Painful periods
Endometriosis-related pain
C-section scar pain or restriction
Urinary leakage when dry needling is appropriate as part of a larger pelvic floor treatment plan
For period pain and endometriosis-related symptoms, treatment may include areas associated with the uterine spinal segments, the low back, or the abdomen. For pelvic pain or urinary symptoms, we may address the pelvic floor muscles directly or related areas such as the hips, glutes, back, abdomen, or inner thighs.
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Dry needling may also be incorporated into care for chronic pain or nervous-system upregulation. Depending on the patient, treatment may include carefully selected areas around the spine or base of the head as part of a broader plan to help regulate the nervous system and improve how the body responds to pain.
This list is not exhaustive. Your therapist will determine whether dry needling is appropriate based on your specific symptoms and examination findings.
What Happens During a Dry Needling Treatment?
We will always explain what you may feel during and after dry needling before we begin. You will have an opportunity to ask questions, and treatment will only move forward with your consent.
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1. We evaluate what is happening.
Your therapist begins by considering your symptoms, medical history, movement, muscle function, nervous-system response, and examination findings. This helps us decide whether dry needling is appropriate and which areas may be most helpful to treat.
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2. We create an individualized needling plan.
The number of needles, placement, technique, and length of treatment are different for every patient. We take into account the severity of your symptoms, whether you have received dry needling before, and how sensitive or reactive your system appears to be.
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3. We perform the treatment.
Some needles are inserted and removed relatively quickly because of the area being treated. Others may remain in place longer while we monitor how your symptoms respond.
Depending on what you need, your therapist may:
Leave the needles still
Gently manipulate a needle
Use electrical stimulation with the needles
Electrical stimulation can be particularly helpful for certain presentations, including some types of low back pain. The specific technique is always selected based on the patient in front of us.
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4. We follow needling with movement.
Dry needling is frequently followed by exercises selected to reinforce the change created during treatment. You may work on mobility, range of motion, muscle activation, stability, or strength immediately afterward.
We will often have you continue those exercises at home to help maintain the improvement and build longer-lasting results.
Dry Needling Appointments at Texas Pelvic Health
We offer dry needling in two ways:
As Part of Physical Therapy
This is how we most commonly use dry needling. After completing an individualized evaluation, your therapist may incorporate it into your treatment plan when it is appropriate for your symptoms and goals.
Our physical therapy appointments are one-on-one with a physical therapist for a full hour. This gives us time to evaluate the bigger picture, perform dry needling when indicated, and follow treatment with the exercises or other interventions needed to help you progress.
As a Standalone Appointment
We also offer 30-minute standalone dry needling appointments. You may request this option when scheduling, although your therapist will still determine whether dry needling is safe and appropriate for your presentation.
Your Dry Needling Questions, Answered
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No. The treatments use a similar thin needle, but they are guided by different assessment and treatment systems. Our physical therapists use anatomy, examination findings, symptoms, and movement impairments to decide where dry needling may be helpful.
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Pain is subjective, and the sensation can vary depending on the person and the area being treated.
Most patients describe feeling a deep, achy pressure. Because the needle can reach deeper into a muscle than massage or cupping, the sensation may feel unusual or more intense than other hands-on treatments. Many patients describe it as a strange or unfamiliar feeling rather than something they would necessarily classify as painful.
You may also experience a brief muscle twitch when the needle reaches a sensitive area or trigger point. A twitch response is not required for dry needling to be effective.
You are always in control of the treatment. If you become uncomfortable or want to stop, tell your therapist and we will stop.
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Mild soreness after dry needling is common. It often feels similar to the soreness you might experience after exercising.
Depending on the area treated and the time of your appointment, soreness may last for the remainder of the day and occasionally into the following day. We generally encourage patients to drink plenty of water and complete the specific movement or mobility exercises recommended by their therapist.
Many patients report feeling considerably better when they wake up the next morning, although every patient and every condition respond differently.
If you take prescribed medication or have questions about using anti-inflammatory medication around your appointment, speak with your prescribing medical provider before making any changes.
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No. Dry needling does not inject medication or another substance into the body.
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Absolutely not. Dry needling is never required. If you are afraid of needles, uncomfortable with the treatment, or simply do not want it, we will use other treatment options. You can still receive significant benefit from physical therapy without dry needling.
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Your therapist will ask about this before recommending treatment. If you are afraid of needles or do not feel comfortable proceeding, we will not pressure you to try it.
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There is no standard number. Your therapist will consider the area being treated, the severity of your symptoms, your previous experience with needling, and how your nervous system responds.
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It depends on the treatment area and goal. Some areas are treated quickly, while needles in other areas may remain in place longer. Your therapist will explain the plan before treatment begins.
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Yes. Small electrical stimulation attachments may be connected to the needles when your therapist determines that technique is appropriate. It can be especially helpful for certain types of low back pain.
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Dry needling may be used during pregnancy when it is appropriate for the patient. Your therapist will consider your medical history, stage of pregnancy, symptoms, and comfort level and will avoid areas that should not be treated during pregnancy.
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It may be incorporated into a larger pelvic floor physical therapy plan for symptoms such as pelvic pain, pelvic floor tension, scar-related restrictions, or urinary leakage. Depending on the examination findings, treatment may address the pelvic floor directly or related areas such as the abdomen, hips, glutes, back, or inner thighs.
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Dry needling can be a highly effective tool, but it is not always the entire solution. We often combine it with exercise, mobility work, manual therapy, education, and a home program to address the factors contributing to your symptoms and help create lasting improvement.
Why Choose Texas Pelvic Health for Dry Needling?
Patients travel to us from throughout East Texas and the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex because we can combine this treatment with specialized pelvic health care and a whole-body physical therapy approach.
Most importantly, we do not dry needle every patient simply because we can.
We use our clinical experience, your examination findings, and your feedback to determine whether it belongs in your treatment plan. If it does, we select the technique that best fits your symptoms. If it does not, we have other options available. Our goal is not simply to perform dry needling. Our goal is to help you experience less pain, move more comfortably, and return to the activities that matter to you. Dry needling is available at our offices in Sulphur Springs, Texas, Canton, Texas, & Rockwall, Texas.
