If you have muscular shoulder problems or an injury, then you might not find it easy to relieve your pain and recover. If your muscles have become tight and knotted, then you will struggle to find ways to make them relax. The pain you feel in one area might also spread to other parts of your body.
While painkillers and muscle relaxants might help, they might not solve the underlying problem. Additional treatments, such as dry needling, could help here. How might dry needling help your recovery?
Get Immediate Pain Relief
Tight and knotted muscles can leave you in constant pain. You can't force damaged or stressed muscles to relax. Even muscle relaxants take time to work and might not give you full relief.
If you have a dry needling treatment, then you should get some immediate pain relief. During this process, your physio or doctor will insert one or more needles into the knotted area of muscle in your shoulder.
Once needles enter a muscle knot, the knot will loosen up and relax. If it is in spasm, it should reset itself. So, you'll get some immediate relief.
Improve Your Range of Motion
If your shoulder is stiff, inflamed and sore, then you won't have a normal range of motion on that side of your body. You might not be able to use the arm on that side because any movement makes your shoulder hurt. You might not be able to do any of the exercises you should be doing to fix the problem.
Dry needling treatments can help improve your range of motion. The needles improve blood flow into damaged muscles; they encourage the body to oxygenate the area. They also reduce inflammation so that the area can heal.
If the muscles in your shoulder relax, and you can reduce some swelling, then your range of motion should increase. You should find it easier and less painful to use your shoulder.
Speed up Your Recovery
Knotted and tight muscles in your shoulder can take time to heal, even with the help of medication. It can take some time to see any improvement, and your full recovery could be slow.
Dry needling helps your muscles recover. It kickstarts your body to improve its own healing processes. Plus, when things loosen up and become less painful, you might be able to start a recuperative exercise program. Exercise can help your shoulder heal. So, your recovery time should be faster.
To find out more about dry needling and how it can help your shoulder injury, talk to your physiotherapist or doctor.