Dry Needling Buzzzzz
The only technique that I am more obsessed with than dry needling (check out my last blog if you haven’t already) is dry needling with electrical stimulation (e-stim for the cool kids). It’s efficient, effective, and adds a little zip to your day.
What is Dry Needling with E-stim?
Dry needling with e-stim entails adding an electrical current to the inserted needles. This electrical current flow will cause targeted muscles to contract in small, but precise, bursts.
In addition to regular dry needling benefits, the goal of adding e-stim can be to:
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The electrical current can be set to activate your muscle by mimicking how your nervous system causes your muscles to contract. This, in turn, primes your muscle for activity and teaches your body how to better activate the muscle.
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Similar to re-educating a muscle, electrical current through your tissue can elicit strong contractions to fatigue a muscle. This fatigue allows muscles that are consistently overused to remain quite and let other muscles in our body step up to the plate.
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While dry needling alone is beneficial for pain reduction, electrical stimulation releases additional endorphins and serotonin to calm symptoms down.
What to expect
Once the e-stim unit has been activated, you will begin to feel a pulsed buzzing through the needles. If a muscle contraction is the goal of the treatment, you will begin to feel pulsed contractions of a specific muscle. You and your therapist will be able to communicate about the level of intensity of the muscle contractions.
Is it safe?
Generally, yes, dry needling with e-stim is safe. Most common side effects remain pain, bruising, and bleeding. Similar to dry needling, this technique is not safe for everyone so your physical therapist will as you a series of questions prior to the procedure to ensure that is safe for you.
Truly informed consent is a must prior to the use of dry needling technique with e-stim.
