A Complete Guide to Dry Needling Therapy for Active Adults

What Is Dry Needling?

Dry needling is an evidence-based technique to release tight, overactive muscles and speed up your body's own healing response.

It is one of the tools we use to speed up the healing process, says Dr. Lucas Silveri-Hiller, my co-founder and Lead Physical Therapist at MYOLAB.

During trigger point dry needling, a thin needle is inserted into a specific myofascial trigger point. This is a tight, knotted band of muscle that causes you pain, stiffness, and restricted movement. Unlike an injection, no medication is administered in the process.

"We do dry needling. So there's nothing on the needle. Very small, tiny needle," Silveri-Hiller explains.

The needle creates a localized "twitch response" in the muscle tissue. It releases muscle tension and improves blood flow to the area. This calms down the pain signals coming from that muscle.

Dry needling is one of the most searched treatments in sports physical therapy. It is also among the most misunderstood treatment options for musculoskeletal pain. Some people avoid it entirely out of fear, imagining it to be too invasive. Others try it without knowing how it works and end up surprised by the sensation.

Part of the confusion comes from how closely dry needling resembles acupuncture. But despite both using similar needles, the two techniques are entirely different.

Dry Needling vs. Acupuncture

Dry needling targets tight muscles using Western anatomy and physiology. Acupuncture places needles along traditional Chinese medicine meridian lines to balance the body's energy flow.

"Dry needling and acupuncture are extremely similar. We both use the same needles," says Dr. Silveri-Hiller.

However, dry needling is based on Western anatomy and sports medicine. "A chiropractor or physical therapist uses dry needling more based on physiology... how the body works," he explains.

Acupuncture, by contrast, comes from traditional Chinese medicine. It is based on the idea of energy, or "qi," that flows along meridian lines throughout the body. Acupuncture needles are placed to correct imbalances in that flow rather than to target a specific muscle.

The goal with dry needling therapy is to stimulate dysfunctional tissue to speed up healing. "If you have pain in your elbow and I want to stimulate blood flow to your elbow tendon to expedite the healing process," Silveri-Hiller explains.

Which Muscles Are Most Commonly Treated With Dry Needling

Dry needling works best on muscles that tend to get chronically overloaded from repetitive movement. At MYOLAB, we use it for the following muscles:

• Upper traps that develop tension from hunching over a desk or steering wheel for long hours
• Overworked glutes in runners and weightlifters
• Hip flexors that get shortened due to prolonged sitting
• Calf muscles that get tightened in jumping-sport athletes
• Hamstrings, which are particularly prone to tightness in sprinters and cyclists

If you experience pain and tightness in these muscle groups and have not had relief with stretching and rest, you could benefit from dry needling.

Our sports physical therapy team most frequently treats runners, lifters, and desk-bound professionals through dry needling therapy in Malvern and the Main Line.

Is Dry Needling Safe?

Dry needling is safe when performed by a trained clinician. It does, however, require clinical training beyond a standard PT or chiropractic license.

Dr. Lucas Silveri-Hiller holds advanced certifications in dry needling and spinal thrust manipulation. I'm trained in Active Release Technique, dry needling, and sport-specific rehabilitation.

What's more, dry needling is not a blind procedure. "Now that we have technology, you could look at it under ultrasound, you could do it under an MRI. You can really see what's happening with the needle," explains Dr. Silveri-Hiller.

A review of 59 studies found that the side effects of dry needling are usually minor and temporary. Examples include soreness or bruising, and serious complications are rare. It is a safe option for most adults dealing with overuse injuries and chronic muscle tension.

We do, however, avoid dry needling in these situations:

• Needle phobia
• Active infection or an open wound near the treatment area
• Certain bleeding disorders
• Pregnancy

People with implanted medical devices, such as a pacemaker, should always disclose them beforehand so we can adjust the treatment area.

Who Benefits the Most From Dry Needling

Dry needling for athletes is often thought to help only with treating severe pain or injury. But it is just as useful for healthy adults. It acts as a proactive tool before muscle tightness becomes severe enough to affect your daily life.

You're likely a good candidate for dry needling if you fall into one of these groups:

• Active adults 45+ with chronic tightness and recurring muscle pain that has not responded to conservative treatment
• Runners, CrossFitters, racket-sport players, and golfers who develop injuries from repetitive movement patterns
• Corporate executives who get muscle tension from long hours at a desk
• Long-distance drivers who develop shoulder soreness
• Athletes in the middle of a heavier training block who want to maintain their tissue health and prevent injury

If you fall into any of the above categories, you should get on a 15-minute discovery call to find out the right next step for you. Dry needling at MYOLAB is paired with manual therapy and corrective exercise as part of a full treatment plan.

Common Myths About Dry Needling

There's plenty of misinformation around dry needling that keeps people from trying it. Here are some of those myths and the actual facts about it.

Myth 1: "It's only for athletes in severe pain"

Dry needling for athletes is not reserved for debilitating pain. It's just as useful for proactive use to release muscle tightness before it turns into an injury.

We recommend it to support your recovery between hard training blocks and to maintain mobility in muscles overworked from daily posture. Plenty of our dry needling patients are active adults maintaining their performance.

Myth 2: "Dry needling leaves you unable to train for days afterward"

You may experience mild muscle soreness for a day or so after dry needling, similar to the feeling after a tough workout. But it does not sideline your daily activity. Most of our patients resume their normal activity, including training, within a day.

Myth 3: "It's not backed by real evidence"

Dry needling therapy has been studied extensively in clinical research, both in terms of safety and effectiveness. The review of 59 studies above found serious complications to be rare. Separately, an umbrella review of 36 systematic reviews found that dry needling reduces musculoskeletal pain in the short term across all body regions.

How Dry Needling Fits Into Your Treatment Plan

At MYOLAB, dry needling is one part of a coordinated plan built around your specific pain and movement patterns.

"Dry needling would just be another tool in the clinician's toolbox," says Dr. Silveri-Hiller.

In most cases, it's paired directly with:

• Manual therapy techniques like myofascial release
• Corrective exercise
• Chiropractic adjustments
• Physical therapy

Although dry needling releases an overactive, dysfunctional muscle, it does not fix why that muscle got tight in the first place. You need corrective exercises for that. Once the tissue is released, loading it with the right movement pattern reinforces that change and builds resilience in the muscle.

Releasing tissue without retraining it is a short-term fix. Similarly, retraining tissue without releasing it first is also not sustainable. But when done together, they reinforce each other.

Dry needling is priced like the rest of our clinical care: fee-for-service and HSA/FSA-eligible. Your first visit is a 60-minute new-patient evaluation in which your clinician will take your history and run a hands-on orthopedic assessment. Your clinician will then explain the findings in plain language. After the assessment, you will most likely receive treatment the same day.

We combine dry needling with either chiropractic or sports physical therapy. Therefore, you'll see it listed under a Chiropractic Visit or Physical Therapy Visit when you schedule your appointment.

Recover Faster With Dry Needling at MYOLAB

If you're dealing with chronic muscle pain and tightness that hasn't responded to rest, dry needling therapy at MYOLAB is worth a conversation.

We assess your needs in a thorough evaluation before deciding on a treatment plan. During the process, we insert a few fine, sterile, single-use needles into target muscles.

Right after dry needling, most patients feel a brief muscle twitch or dull ache, followed by a noticeable sense of looseness. We pair dry needling with other manual therapies in a full 60 minutes of one-on-one therapy time.

Here's how to get started:

1. Book a free 15-minute discovery call to talk through your symptoms so that you can find out if dry needling is for you.
2. Schedule your new-patient evaluation with either a MYOLAB chiropractor or physical therapist.
3. Get a hands-on assessment and a personalized treatment plan. Join MYOLAB's waitlist and start charting your path towards recovery and optimizing your body!

Contact us today!