Your body functions like a network, each part connected and working together. When a line isn’t working right, you don’t just fix one point—you optimize the whole system.
Combining chiropractic care and dry needling for musculoskeletal conditions is like that: it tackles the problem from all angles, ensuring a smoother, faster, and more effective recovery. While both focus on restoring mobility and alleviating pain, they do so in different ways.
Let’s explore how they work, the top conditions treated with chiropractic care and dry needling, and how they support recovery and maintaining health.
Let’s first discuss how chiropractic care and dry needling work.
Chiropractic care is a healthcare discipline that focuses on diagnosing and treating musculoskeletal disorders, mainly through spinal or joint adjustments. It views the body as an interconnected system, where spinal misalignments affect overall health, and works to restore alignment, reduce nerve pressure, provide musculoskeletal pain relief, and improve function.
Dry needling addresses pain and movement issues associated with trigger points—tight knots within the muscles that are painful when pressed. With this technique, a chiropractor inserts thin, sterile needles into or near those trigger points. The needles stimulate your muscles, causing them to contract or twitch, which helps relieve pain, release tense muscles, reduce inflammation, and improve function.
Are you experiencing any of the following conditions? If so, then combining chiropractic care and dry needling can benefit you.
Back pain is a constant struggle for 619 million people worldwide, and possibly more will suffer from it in the coming years. Fortunately, chiropractic care and dry needling provide a path to lasting relief.
Chiropractic care provides mobility torealigns the spine and relieves nerve pressure to manage chronic back pain, with manual adjustments being the most common treatment. Dry needling complements this by targeting muscle knots, scar tissue, improving blood flow, relieving tension, and triggering endorphins to ease pain.
About 3 million Americans sustain whiplash injuries every year, making diverse treatment options crucial to address the condition’s varying impact. Two such options can be dry needling and chiropractic care.
Dry needling targets myofascial trigger points in the neck muscles, releasing tension, improving blood flow, and reducing pain. Meanwhile, chiropractic techniques like flexion–distraction or instrument-assisted adjustments restore proper alignment and mobility to the cervical spine, alleviating neck pain and stiffness associated with whiplash.
Dry needling and chiropractic care offer a holistic approach to relieving neuropathic pain by targeting the root causes and promoting long-term relief. Dry needling disrupts pain cycles by targeting trigger points and stimulating nerve pathways, which boosts blood circulation and offers relief.
On the other hand, chiropractors locate the compressed sciatic nerve and free it by setting your spine and pelvis right, reducing pain and improving motion. A 2015 systematic review suggests that chiropractic care relieves various types of back pain, including this condition. Combining both treatments in your plan can effectively ease symptoms and support long-term recovery from sciatica.
Chiropractic care and dry needling can be effective treatments for shoulder pain, which affects between 7% and 26% of people. They target its root causes like rotator cuff injuries to relieve discomfort and improve mobility.
Chiropractic adjustments address misalignments of the spinal and shoulder joints, resulting in better mobility and alleviating pain, while dry needling targets trigger points in the affected shoulder muscles and tendons, reducing inflammation and promoting healing.
If you’re among the many people suffering from tension-type headaches or migraines, chiropractic care with dry needling could be an excellent source of relief.
Now that you know which conditions can be treated with this approach, let’s explore chiropractic and dry needling benefits.
Combining chiropractic care and dry needling offers integrated pain management to relieve pain, addressing the condition’s structural and muscular components. This combination can provide faster, more effective relief than either treatment alone.
Chiropractic adjustments restore joint mobility, while dry needling enhances muscle flexibility and reduces stiffness, improving overall function. Patients often experience greater ease of movement and reduced pain with this integrated approach.
Long-term health requires more than a one-time treatment. Regular chiropractic and dry needling sessions can help prevent the recurrence of musculoskeletal conditions by maintaining proper alignment and muscle health. Ongoing care can support long-term wellness and reduce the risk of future injuries.
If you’re new to chiropractic care and dry needling, here’s what you should know to set realistic expectations and ease any concerns.
During your first visit, you’ll undergo a thorough assessment to determine the underlying causes of your pain and dysfunction. Your chiropractor will review your medical history and perform a physical exam. Based on the findings, they will tailor a treatment plan, including chiropractic care and dry needling, to achieve the desired outcomes.
Chiropractic adjustments typically last 15–30 minutes but can be longer on the initial consultation. Dry needling sessions take the same amount of time or slightly shorter than chiropractic adjustments, depending on the technique and areas treated.
Regular follow-up visits are crucial for tracking progress, adjusting the treatment plan, and ensuring effective recovery. These visits help ensure you’re on the path to optimal recovery.
Musculoskeletal conditions are common, so it’s essential to be proactive and know where to seek help if they arise. When looking for treatment options, consider chiropractic care and dry needling. Combining these therapies offers comprehensive pain relief and enhanced function by addressing both the symptoms and the root causes, promoting overall health.
With the right chiropractic care and dry needling, you can effectively manage your condition and enhance your overall quality of life. Take the first step toward feeling your healthiest with personalized care at Stumpff Chiropractic. Our experienced provider, Dr. Eric Stumpff, offers customized treatment for musculoskeletal issues and prioritizes your well-being in a supportive, attentive environment, ensuring you receive the highest standard of care in our clinic.
Schedule your appointment today if you have any of the conditions treated with chiropractic care and dry needling.