Three Dry Needling Recovery Tips That You Should Know Before Your Session

By now, many people have now been able to experience the benefits that Dry Needling has to offer. It’s proven to be a very effective treatment for musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction. It continues to be used more across the PT industry.

When I talk to patients about this treatment intervention, I often start by asking “How do you feel about needles?”. We chat about the pros and cons of getting poked with tiny needles, and how effective dry needling is for so many of our patients here at Anti-Fragile. I usually end up sharing that I personally use dry needling to manage my own aches and pains. Even though it can be a painful treatment, the 10-15 minutes of needle pricks and aches are so worth the improvements you feel after.

Then, we talk about the aftermath. It is very common to feel some initial heaviness, soreness or aching immediately after dry needling. You may feel like the treatment area is just tired or sluggish, but this should be accompanied by an improvement in strength or functional mobility. This is something that your therapist can help you test to confirm your treatment has helped.

Anyone would be okay to be needled, and then carry on their day like normal. However, there are some things that help mitigate the soreness that often shows up in the 24 hours after a dry needling treatment. We typically won’t do much exercise after a dry needling session because of that soreness and sense of fatigue, but I do always recommend these 3 things to every single person.

1. Move your Body

   
   

   

   
   

You may feel like someone just punched you in the (insert body part here), but I want you to move your body to help the muscles that we treated move through their full range of motion. This continues to increase circulation and flush the area of the different cellular by-products that are released with this kind of deep manual therapy .

Aerobic exercise is helpful, but we want to avoid high intensity exercise in the area that was needled. The recommended activities may change based on where you were treated, but I’m going to typically recommend recovery effort exercise and mobility in the 24 hours after treatment.

That being said, it’s an important reminder to avoid complete rest after dry needling, as this will just lead to you feeling more stiff and sore. If you’ve ever had a tough work out or a physically hard day, and then went home and parked on the couch for a few hours, how did you feel when you stood up again? Probably not very mobile. We want to avoid that type of stagnant activity, and reinforce gentle stretching and light mobility.

2. Heat:

   
   

   

   Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-red-dress-holding-fabric-heat-packs-massaging-a-person-s-bare-back-6187856/

   
   

Having a preference for heat after dry needling falls in line with the same logic that drives our recommendation to move. We’re trying to increase circulation in the area that we’ve treated and keep that environment warm and happy to help it recover.

Dry needling helps to increase blood flow and nervous system activity in the area of treatment. This is in part why you may feel like you did a heavy workout afterwards, even though you didn’t “do” anything during that part of the treatment session.

We don’t want to dull this reaction with cold therapies or NSAIDs afterwards. This “circulation” that I keep referring to is considered an inflammatory response, but not the bad kind that we constantly hear about combatting with diet and exercise. It is a normal response that can actually help our body heal and process pain, which is part of the reason we believe dry needling to be so effective.

So, skip the ice baths and the Advil. Let the area simmer for 24 hours or so. Move and add heat externally as needed to help the area stay active. Make sure to take advantage of the changes in mobility and sensation that you may feel after treatment!

3. Water:

   
   

   

   
   

It’s hardly ever a bad recommendation to drink more water, so I don’t know if we need much of an explanation here, but I always mention it anyway!

During dry needling, we’re influencing tension in not only muscle, but fascia as well. Both of these tissues are very influenced by our hydration status. Even if it isn’t as obvious in humans as it may be in say, plants that wilt when they need water, we can still feel some pretty significant changes in flexibility, mobility and muscle fatigue when we are not optimally hydrated!

Proper water intake helps to keep all of our soft-tissue both supple and flexible, which allows it to respond better to all of the physical demands we place on it from day to day. Maintaining a good hydration status allows our body to keep circulating nutrients into and out of all of the individual cells that make up our musculoskeletal system. We want to supplement that as much as possible after we attempt to make changes with dry needling, and other very direct soft-tissue mobilizations.

All this being said, my patients are typically back to full speed with running, cycling and weightlifting within 24 hours after treatment.

Share Your Thoughts in the Comments

If you’ve discovered any secrets that you’d like to share, I’d love to hear them! Everybody is different, and some people need a slightly different approach than others. If you’re simply wondering why we think it’s worth discussing dry needling and how to use it to your advantage, feel free to reach out with any questions you may have about how you can benefit from this amazing intervention.