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Hello to all our friends,
When I was 31 years old, working in the suburbs of Chicago, one of my patients asked if I had given blood at the blood bank. I let her know that I did not give blood. She asked me why. Before I knew it, she informed me that being afraid of needles was not a good reason.
Little did I know that she was the director of a blood bank. She actually told me they were having a blood drive across the street in 3 months. She informed me that she would be coming over to get me during lunch and bring me over to give blood. I got her better and forgot the entire conversation.
Unfortunately, 3 months passed, and she came to bring me across the street. She actually brought me over, pulling me by the hand. I laid down, and she asked me if the needle hurt. I said, “yes”! She was unfazed and sat next to me until the entire nightmare was over. Following that one experience, I have felt enough guilt that, up until COVID, I gave blood at least 3-4x’s a year for 33 years.
I am telling you this story because I wanted you all to know that I overcame my fear of needles (not totally, though). I still have anxiety going to give blood over 30 years later. The needles used for blood draws are larger and are typically much more painful than a treatment technique we have been using to help many people called, dry needling.
The needles are acupuncture needles. They are very thin, safe, and rarely painful. We have helped so many patients with these treatments. Many patients, over the years, have asked the difference between acupuncture and dry needling. A simple answer is that acupuncture has been around for centuries. It is based on the importance of meridians (or channels throughout our bodies) and the importance of making sure these meridians have a continuous flow of positive and negative energy. The meridians represent specific points which correspond to every part of our body.
Dry needling often addresses trigger points in the muscles, which are very small tight spots in the muscle which need to be released. By releasing these spots, we try to stop the pain receptors from firing and continuing to allow the trigger point to exist in a particular muscle. We have also had success controlling and eliminating the burning and tingling chronic pain that some patients have had.
Two patient examples that I would like to share have to do with a person with hot, burning pain from her neck down her entire right arm and a cyclist with an Achilles tendon issue. The first patient had had a neck fusion 5 years earlier.
She had come in to be evaluated and was worried that she may have needed another neck surgery. To be honest, this was on our physical therapist’s mind as well. This particular therapist presented the possibility of dry needling. The patient was open to this because they were nervous about having another neck surgery.
The treatment involved inserting tiny needles from her neck down her entire right arm on every hot spot (or trigger point) that she had the therapist mark. This patient, unfortunately, was leaving on a business trip in 6 days and had limited time. She was scared and in constant pain which she said fluctuated from a 4/10 to a 9/10. Dry needling is rarely ordered for daily treatment. It can vary from once a week to 2-3x’s a week. That said, this therapist decided, due to the patient’s schedule and pain levels, to treat daily for five straight days. The first surprise, overall, was that the burning pain diminished and disappeared in those 5 days of dry needling with electrical current hooked to the needles. The second and bigger surprise was that the patient hasn’t had any more of that burning or pain in 3 years!
The next case was a cyclist who had chronic Achilles tendon and calf pain. Several physical therapists have treated this patient, including one set of treatments at our clinic. He had heard about the dry needling and came in to try it. We treated this patient only twice a week, and we used a different technique to stimulate healing of the tendon. He no longer has chronic Achilles tendonitis and has continued to cycle over the last 5 years.
My point of sharing my personal fear of needles and giving blood, is to hopefully open your mind to needles. Dry needling is taught and performed differently in different healthcare treatment centers. Several of our therapists are certified in dry needling. I hope, if you are experiencing some chronic pain that you have been unable to control, that you may consider dry needling as a tool to help you in the future.
Enjoy the journey!
Fran McDonald President/CEO
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