I still remember my excitement the first day of training in Trigger Point Dry Needling (TDN). I was visibly buzzing. I was about to learn one of the most powerful soft-tissue techniques available to any health care provider. It was a landmark moment that forever changed how I treat patients.
I was one of the first 20 people in Colorado trained in TDN and we were prepared to use each other as pin cushions for 3 days straight! As I sat in a room full of novice needlers (PTs and MDs), I wasn't sure if the buzz was nervous energy or if I knew in my heart that this was one of the most significant learning opportunities of my career. Maybe it was a bit of both.
A year later, after completing several courses and hundreds of treatment sessions, I became an advanced level practitioner. I already had a Masters degree in Physical Therapy and my TDN training was the culmination of thousands of hours of study and practice. So, I went back to the clinic ready to needle everyone and everything I could get my hands on. I needled myself, my wife, my aunts and uncles, my mom and dad, my friends, my boss, my PCP, my dermatologist, my tax guy, my colleagues, and most significantly my mother in law (how many people wish they could do that?).
Reactions to TDN are as varied as the people I have treated. On my treatment table I have seen people break down in tears, laugh uncontrollably, sweat, swear, get chilled, kick me, hit me, shake, fall asleep, and just lie there talking to me as if I was doing nothing to them. TDN has the potential to elicit just about any response you can imagine and these reactions carry with them strong benefits beyond the physical improvements. My wife cries almost every time I treat her as all of the emotional components of her injury come pouring out. Almost without exception she is pain free within a day or two. Is it magic?...
Video Demonstration of Trigger Point Dry Needling