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Hello! I have another new treatment I have been trying! My physical therapist recommended dry needling, which is performed by a chiropractor (at least around here). It uses needles similar to acupuncture. The needle is inserted down into the muscle, often in or near a trigger point. I have been receiving the treatment for about 2 months, and although it doesn’t completely alleviate my pain, it has helped me greatly. I used to spend a majority of my time in the fetal position, and this procedure has kept me walking (most days) and this past week I have even been sitting with my feet on the floor!
In my experiences, dry needling isn’t overly painful. Any pain that I have had when the needle is inserted melts away within about a minute, and there is only slight discomfort when the needle is removed. I recommend drinking a lot of water before it though because it has helped with how sore I am after the procedure (I have it done in my hip flexer and upper leg). I am usually only sore for a couple of hours after the treatment as well. The response to each needle varies; I have had some sharp pain, my leg twitch (that’s a good thing), feeling achy (also good), and sometimes (especially when the needle is removed) it tickles and tingles a bit.
This procedure has been shown to help people with myofascial pain. It is not covered by most insurance companies, but doesn’t cost too much compared to other treatments I’ve had (it’s about $50 in our region).
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Hello…After I made my post, I continued ASTYM for about 2 months and then felt quite a bit better. I recently started having a lot of issues again, and I am trying to get back into physical therapy for ASTYM. My physical therapist told me about something called dry needling.
Basically dry needling is a therapeutic treatment that involves using filament needles (up to 5 inches long) to be inserted into the muscle in the area of the body which produces pain and typically contains a trigger point. This is not like trigger-point injections where an injectable solution if also used; these are simply very thin needles inserted for a couple of minutes and then removed.
While I personally have not had any success with dry needling treatments, I wanted to put it out there so that other people can possibly use it in the future. It’s not very painful, and the sessions don’t last long. For me, my insurance doesn’t cover it but it’s $30 per area, so I have my hip flexer and upper leg done and it’s considered one area. My referring physical therapist told me that in a best case scenario, dry needling can provide relief up to two weeks. And trust me, the procedure sounds scarier than it actually is…Anywho, I just wanted to throw this out there for others who have chronic conditions, especially ones that are muscular. Hopefully it can help some of you out! 🙂
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I used to play WoW quite a bit, especially when I was having a bad pain day. I found it to be pretty helpful and it’s nice to be able to talk to people (even if it’s random strangers on the internet) because sometimes sitting in your room alone gets pretty lonely. Unfortunately I had to give it up because of time/money restraints with school, but lately I have been shooting my compound bow more and I find it extremely relaxing and it’s a great way to de-stress. 🙂
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My pain is a little..odd I guess and so the only way I can relieve pain is to curl up into the fetal position. Since I tend to have very sharp pains that incapacitate me, I make sure that I always have a designated location where I can lay/sit comfortably at work/home/etc. I’ve also added in deep breathing along with tapping my fingers to help distract myself from the pain. I’ve given my chronic pain a name (Carl) and whenever I’m having a bad pain day I can just tell people that Carl is upset and it becomes understood with the people around me. Other things I use are calming music without words to help ease myself so I don’t tense up my muscles. If I’m able to, I might try to play a game or talk or something, but typically I end up lying on the floor in the fetal position and I focus on important things there whether it’s reading or talking with friends. At least for me, it’s very important to not let my chronic pain control my actions too much. I don’t always get to do things the way normal people do, but I’ve adapted my strategies with life so that I can still accomplish all of my goals.
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