Service
Dry Needling
A thin filament into the exact knot that keeps referring pain.
- Visit length
- 15–25 minutes, often added to a visit
- Typical course
- 3–6 sessions, spaced 5–7 days apart
- Discomfort
- A deep ache or twitch for a second or two per point
- Insurance
- Varies by plan — we verify before your first session
Fine monofilament needles placed directly into taut bands of muscle to release trigger points that manual pressure cannot reach.
A trigger point is a hyperirritable spot inside a taut band of muscle. Press it and it hurts locally — but it also refers pain somewhere else, often somewhere that feels completely unrelated to the muscle you are pressing.
That referral is why so many people spend months treating the wrong place. A trigger point in the upper trapezius refers into the temple. One in the gluteus minimus refers down the leg in a pattern that mimics sciatica closely enough to fool people for years.
Why a needle rather than a thumb
Manual pressure works well on superficial tissue. It struggles with two things: depth and specificity.
The deep hip rotators sit under a substantial layer of glute. The scalenes are buried alongside structures you do not want to lean on. A filament reaches these directly without compressing everything on top of them, and lands within a millimetre or two of the band rather than somewhere in its neighbourhood.
The twitch
When the needle contacts an active trigger point, the muscle often produces a brief involuntary contraction. It is a strange sensation — a deep, fast cramp that releases immediately. That local twitch response correlates with better outcomes, so when we get one, we generally stop working that point. More is not better here.
What it does not fix
Dry needling releases tissue. It does not explain why the tissue kept getting overloaded. A trigger point in the upper trap that returns every three weeks is telling you something about how your shoulder blade is working, or your workstation, or your training. We treat the point and then go find that answer, because otherwise you are booking this every month indefinitely.
How it runs
Locate the taut band
We palpate for the specific band and its trigger point. You will usually recognise the referral pattern immediately when we find it — that recognition is the confirmation.
Insert and elicit
A sterile single-use filament goes in. Often the muscle produces a brief involuntary twitch. That twitch is the therapeutic event and it is over in a second.
Move it afterward
We follow every session with movement or light loading. A released muscle that goes straight back to sitting still tends to re-tighten within days.
Dry needling
What people ask about this.
Is this acupuncture?
Same tool, different reasoning. Acupuncture is grounded in traditional Chinese medicine and its meridian system. Dry needling is grounded in Western musculoskeletal anatomy — we needle a specific muscle because we found a specific trigger point in it. Both can help; they are not the same discipline.
Does it hurt?
The insertion itself is barely noticeable — these filaments are far thinner than a hypodermic needle. What you feel is the twitch response, a deep cramping ache lasting a second or two. Most people describe it as strange rather than painful, and it stops the moment the needle comes out.
How will I feel afterward?
Commonly a dull soreness in the treated muscle for 12 to 48 hours, similar to a hard workout. Heat and gentle movement help. Occasionally there is a small bruise. Both are normal.
Who should not have it?
Anyone with a needle phobia we cannot work around, patients on certain anticoagulants, those with a local infection or open wound, and some immunocompromised patients. We ask about all of this beforehand. Pregnancy is not an absolute contraindication but changes which points we use.
New patient special — $59 New Patient Visit
Not sure dry needling is what you need?
That is exactly what the first visit determines. If the exam points somewhere else, we will tell you — and if it points outside this clinic, we will refer you.
Columbus, OH · Same-week appointments · Most insurance accepted