Tennis elbow is a condition that, despite its name, doesn’t only happen to those who play tennis. If you are experiencing pain or weakness on the outside of your forearm or elbow, dry needling is an exceptional therapy that can provide significant relief. At Free Body Physical Therapy, Physical Therapy Logan Square, we implement dry needling into our tennis elbow treatments to help patients experience better and faster results! Continue reading to learn more!
What is Tennis Elbow?
Tennis elbow is another term for lateral epicondylitis. While the name suggests this condition solely occurs in tennis players, tennis elbow is one of the most common conditions in patients experiencing elbow pain. Tennis elbow is thought to result from small tears of the tendons attaching the forearm muscles to the arm at the elbow joint. Most cases of tennis elbow are caused by overuse and repetitive movements. Some of the prevalent symptoms of tennis elbow include:
- Burning or aching pain outside of the elbow.
- Pain in the elbow that spreads to the forearm.
- Weakened grip strength.
Dry Needling for Tennis Elbow
When you suffer a repetitive strain injury like tennis elbow, your tissues go through a healing process. This usually begins with swelling and inflammation and culminates with the reconstruction of the injured tissue. Adhesions and scar tissue build-up can form and lead to chronic dysfunction during this process. Dry needling is an alternative therapeutic modality that can help treat tennis elbow. While dry needling utilizes the same type of needles as acupuncture, they are different.
Acupuncture is based on traditional Chinese medicine, and dry needling is based on Western medicine. The needles are inserted into myofascial trigger points during a dry needling session to relieve pressure. Some of the benefits of dry needling for tennis elbow can include:
- Reduced inflammation and swelling – Dry needling can help reduce the inflammation and swelling often associated with tennis elbow. This, in turn, can encourage healing and prevent further tissue damage.
- Improved blood circulation – By using small needles to stimulate the muscles around your elbow, dry needling can boost blood flow to the area. This improved circulation can help to reduce pain and promote healing.
- Reduced muscle tension – One of the leading causes of tennis elbow is muscle tightness or trigger points. Dry needling can help release these trigger points and reduce muscle tension, leading to reduced pain and discomfort.
- Improved range of motion – When the muscles and tissues around your elbow are relaxed, you will often experience an enhanced range of motion. This can be beneficial for those who suffer from tennis elbow as it helps to prevent further injury and allows you to return to your regular activities more quickly.
If you are suffering from tennis elbow, dry needling may be a treatment option worth considering. Our physical therapists at Free Body Physical Therapy, Physical Therapy Logan Square, will discuss whether it is right for you and how you should proceed with treatment. It’s important to note that dry needling alone may not completely resolve tennis elbow. Our team will incorporate dry needling into your comprehensive treatment plan to ensure well-rounded care. With regular dry needling sessions, you can experience relief from the pain and discomfort associated with tennis elbow and start on the potential path to a full recovery.
Contact Us: Physical Therapy Logan Square
Dry needling is a safe and effective treatment option for many people with tennis elbow. If you are considering dry needling for your tennis elbow, be sure to consult with our practitioners at Free Body Physical Therapy, Physical Therapy Logan Square, With the right treatment plan, you can find relief from your tennis elbow pain and get back to enjoying your favorite activities. Be sure to contact Free Body Physical Therapy, Physical Therapy Logan Square, today to learn more and schedule an appointment!
Dry needling is a manual therapy technique that has grown in popularity recently, yet many patients are unfamiliar with this treatment. Our specially trained physical therapists utilize dry needling to relieve pain and increase the range of motion for patients dealing with myofascial pain. Please continue reading to learn more about dry needling and the conditions it treats from our healing experts at Free Body Physical Therapy!
What Is Dry Needling?
Dry needling is an innovative technique similar to acupuncture, yet they are vastly different. Dry needling is a type of myofascial trigger point therapy that we conduct in a sterile, safe environment to swiftly help increase your range of motion resulting from muscle stiffness or soreness. In most cases, this discomfort is caused by soft tissue damage. Over time, your muscles can develop tender, knotted areas known as trigger points. The trigger points are highly sensitive and often cause pain that affects other parts of your body. Our physical therapists will insert tiny, thin needles through the skin into the trigger points during a dry needling session. These needles are only meant to stimulate the tissue.
Inserting small, thin needles into the trigger points causes your muscles to contract and immediately relax, effectively diminishing glaring symptoms. During your session, you may experience various sensations, but muscle twitches and soreness are signs that the treatment is working. The dry needles may be placed superficially or deeply for varying periods of time, depending mainly on the type of pain being treated and the duration.
What Conditions Are Treated With Dry Needling?
Dry needling is used at Physical Therapy Logan Square, as a component of your overall treatment plan that will likely involve manual therapy, exercise, and heat therapy. Trigger point dry needling is most often used to lessen the occurrence of problematic symptoms and pain, but can also be used to treat the following conditions:
- Whiplash.
- Myofascial Pain.
- Back Problems.
- Tendonitis.
- Migraines.
- Joint Problems.
- Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMJ).
- Disk Problems.
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
- Muscle Weakness.
- Scar Tissue Buildup.
It’s best to consult with our experts at Free Body Physical Therapy, Physical Therapy Logan Square, to determine if dry needling would be beneficial. Blood thinners need to be cleared for dry needling. Patients living with diabetes, vascular disease, or lymphedema should also check with our team before this therapy. Our team will evaluate your condition and verify your eligibility before beginning treatment.
Benefits of Dry Needling At Physical Therapy Logan Square
Dry needling can ignite the release of your body’s natural pain reliever, improve nerve communication, relax your muscles, and boost blood flow to painful areas. Here are some other notable benefits you can experience with trigger point dry needling:
- Fast Pain Relief – Painful symptoms can immediately improve as the knot in your muscle relaxes, and blood flow improves. Many patients experience fast relief after one session, but others may require several sessions to achieve maximum benefits. Your treatment plan will largely depend on the number of trigger points and the severity of your symptoms.
- Restored Range of Motion – Muscle pain can significantly restrict your movement, and dealing with multiple trigger points further hinders mobility. Dry needling combined with our personalized physical therapy programs can help rebuild your strength, restore range of motion, and retrain your muscles to prevent future trigger points.
- Improved Chronic Pain Conditions – Dry needling can vastly improve chronic pain conditions like fibromyalgia and myofascial pain syndrome.
- Accelerated Recovery – Whether you’ve experienced a soft tissue injury or had surgery, movement is essential for promoting healing and facilitating your recovery. Dry needling combined with physical therapy helps accelerate the recovery process.
Contact Us: Physical Therapy Logan Square
You don’t have to manage debilitating pain on your own. Our experts at Free Body Physical Therapy, Physical Therapy Logan Square, are here to guide you throughout your healing journey. If you are interested in trying dry needling to expand your range of motion and relieve pain, be sure to request an appointment with our team today!
As student-athletes train over the summer, preparing to head back to the practice fields later this season, injuries are going to happen. Despite concerted efforts to reduce and prevent sports injuries, it’s impossible to eliminate them from sports. If you are injured contact Physical Therapy Logan Square.
So in order to ensure injuries are diagnosed and treated quickly, before they worsen, it’s paramount parents and guardians are able to quickly identify the signs of possible injury – ailments that aren’t always obvious during practice or competition, but which may manifest later on at home.
The fact is, whether it’s because they’re concerned about playing time or feel they can tough it out, student-athletes won’t always admit when they’re hurt or injured. But even when a youth or teen is convinced it’s not that bad, that they can walk it off, etc., he or she could still be doing themselves harm by not getting treatment as soon as possible.”
This is when it’s important for a parent or guardian to get involved.
By just knowing some of the obvious signs that a young athlete isn’t just sore but is actually injured, parents can play an active role in ensuring injuries are diagnosed and treated as soon as possible, preventing further damage from occurring.
Signs to watch out for include:
- Headaches, lightheadedness or dizziness, which may indicate a concussion.
- Limping or an appearance of pain when putting weight on and/or using a particular part of the body.
- Difficulty standing, sitting, stepping or moving around normally.
- Tingling, numbness or weakness in the limbs, fingers or toes.
- Difficulty sleeping.
- Sharp pain during practice, games or any physical activity.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 30 million children and adolescents in the U.S. participate in youth sports. Just the high school-aged students within this group account for around 2 million injuries and 500,000 doctor visits each year. Of those under 14, 3.5 million receive medical treatment for sports injuries.
The bottom line is, “no pain, no gain” doesn’t apply in youth sports, just as there should be no such thing as “toughing it out.” If your child or teen is showing any of these signs, it’s important you get them evaluated as soon as you can.
In many cases, visiting Physical Therapy Logan Square can be an ideal starting point for such evaluations. Trained to provide sports injury assessments for athletes of all ages, physical therapists will triage the injury and, if necessary, provide direction if further diagnosis and treatment are necessary.