Dry Needling Information & Consent Form
What is Dry Needling?
Dry Needling (DN) is a skilled technique performed by a physical therapist in which sterile filiform needles are inserted into myofascial trigger points ( painful knots in muscles). The procedure is an important tool for diagnosing, treating and monitoring changes in tissue that may be associated with one or a number of your complaints. During the procedure, a sterile, very thin, solid filament is inserted into tissue, the needle stimulates a healing response in painful musculoskeletal conditions.
Dry Needling (DN) is the name given to the treatment of pain and dysfunction of the Musculoskeletal system through usage of sterile disposable needles, Although acupuncture needles are used during DN, classical acupuncture and DN have nothing in common.
Is Dry Needling safe?
Drowsiness, tiredness or dizziness can occur after treatment in a small number of patients (1-3%) and if affected, you are advised not to drive. Minor bleeding or bruising occurs after DN in 15-20% of treatments and is considered normal. Temporary pain during dry needling occurs in 60-70% of treatments. Existing symptoms can get worse after treatment (less than 3% of patients); however, this is not necessarily a ‘bad’ sign. Fainting can occur in certain patients (0.3%), particularly at the first treatment session when needling the neck or head regions. DN is very safe; however, serious side effects can occur in less than 1 per 10,000 ( less than 0.01%) treatments.
The most common serious side effect from DN is induced pneumothorax ( lung collapse due to air inside the chest wall), an accidental puncture of a lung. The symptoms of DN-induced pneumothorax commonly do not occur until after the treatment session and sometimes it takes several hours to develop. The signs and symptoms of a pneumothorax may include shortness of breath on exertion, increased breathing rate, chest pain, a dry cough, bluish discoloration of the skin or excessive sweating. If such signs and/or symptoms occur, you should immediately contact your physical therapist or physician. Nerves or blood vessels may be damaged from dry needling which can result in pain, numbness and tingling, however this is a very rare event and is usually temporary. Damage to internal organs has been reported in medical literature following DN, however, these are extremely rare events ( 1 in 200,000).
Like any treatment, there are possible complications. While these complications are rare in occurrence, they are real and must be considered prior to giving your consent for dry needling treatment.