Dry needling

Dry needling is the Western practice of precise insertion of hair thin needles into targeted soft tissue for the purpose of: strengthening tendons and ligaments, relaxation of muscle and pain relief. The insertion of the needles does a variety of things to achieve healing. It can create a local inflammatory response allowing for beneficial blood flow and generation of healthy elastic tissue.

 

Movement and rotation of the needles pulls and tugs on muscle fibres which can trigger certain muscle cells to relax. The spinning of the needles spools the muscle fibres, and the body is forced to respond by relaxing the larger section of tissue in order to allow the needles to leave the body. This gains a strong therapeutic effect.

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Chronic muscle tension and spasm can cause reduced oxygen and other nutrient supply. This in turn, can possibly result in a small area of abnormal function. Bleeding, which can be an effect of needling, breaks microscars in these areas and can provide blood and growth factors to facilitate healing.

Needling may also alter chemicals responsible for transmitting pain. Endorphin release and changes to cell potassium combine to block conduction of pain.

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Cupping

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History: The history of cupping goes back centuries and was practiced by numerous cultures. Reports of cupping have been found in Chinese, Hindu and Egyptian scriptures. The cups and techniques may have changed but the effect has remained the same.

 

Cupping is a therapy in which a jar is attached to the skin surface to cause local congestion through the removal of the air in the jar. Traditionally created by introducing heat in the form of an ignited material it is more commonly performed today with suction pumps.

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Cupping can be very effective for the treatment of:

• Musculoskeletal pain and discomfort

• Headaches and migraines

• Sporting injuries

• Asthma

• Chronic cough

• Gastro-intestinal disorders

 

Principles of its therapeutic effect are similar to that of dry needling, however the main mechanism for cupping is inducing a rush of blood flow by breaking muscle adhesions and microscopic blood vessels.

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Osteopath Jesse is trained in both these modalities.