My knee has been driving me up the wall this week. I just tried to book an appointment with my physio for Friday, and was told that she wouldn’t be around that day. She’s off to do some training in dry needling in Christchurch, apparently. The receptionist said she’d be back next week, ready and able to administer treatment using her freshly minted skillset, if I was interested. I gave a reply of vague assent and made the booking for next week; I trust my physio to decide if this treatment is going to be of any benefit to me.
In actual fact, I didn’t have the foggiest idea as to what dry needling entails, aside from an image in my mind of a skin needling scenario administered in a fashion that’s slightly more sporty than spiritual. I decided that some research was in order if I’m to avoid unwittingly entering into something a bit heavier duty than I was picturing.
Well, it seems I wasn’t all that far off the mark. From what I understand from a cursory internet search, dry needling uses equipment that’s very similar to what’s used in other needling treatments. So, yes, it does involve sticking needles into the body. It’s a bit more conventionally Western in its aims though – it’s used primarily by manual therapists to treat acute and chronic orthopedic and musculoskeletal conditions.
It’s kind of cool that a therapist can disappear for a weekend and return with this technique in their toolbelt, ready to apply it to patients, as appears to be the case with dry needling training for clinicians. The receptionist mentioned that my physio was going to be doing a level 1 course, and that she was planning to complete level 2 early next year. I wonder if level 1 will give her the info she needs to dry needle my knee, seeing as (from what she’s told me) it seems to be a fairly complex situation down there in the leg-bending department.