
Dry Needling

Dry Needling
Dry Needling is a hands-on physical therapy approach to treat Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction. A variety of manual techniques are used during the physical therapy treatments to inactivate myofascial trigger points, and to restore normal muscle tones, muscle length, coordination, function and strength.
All skeletal muscles anywhere in the body can be treated this way:
​
-
Neck & Back Pain
-
Fibromyalgia
-
Soft Tissue Injuries
-
Shoulder & Elbow Pain
-
Hip & Knee Pain
-
Muscle Strain
-
Acute and Chronic Pain
-
Bursitis
-
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
-
Planter Fasciitis
Benefits of Dry Needling
​
-
Faster and longer lasting results than other approaches
-
Allows therapist to treat parts of the muscle that hands and fingers cannot reach
-
Cost effective for both the practitioner and patient
-
Highly effective in treating ailments (more than 87% efficacy)
-
Superior alternative to analgesics, NSAID’s and other medications
-
Reduces the need for surgery
-
Able to improve chronic pain typically resistant to other forms of treatment
How does it work?
​
-
Dry Needling is a valuable, effective and efficient adjunct treatment to inactivate myofascial trigger points (tight knots found in muscles).
-
It is an invasive procedure in which a thin solid filament sterile needle is used to inactivate the myofascial trigger points by producing a local twitch response.
-
This local twitch response then releases the shortened bands of muscle fibers. The result is muscle relaxation and pain relief. Eliciting this local twitch response is key for successful deactivation of the trigger point.
-
No medication of any kind is injected.
-
Inactivation of the trigger points can bring immediate relief of symptoms.
Payments/Insurance
Initial Evaluation (45 min)
​
All new patients will need to have an initial evaluation with the physical therapist to discuss your goals/concerns, perform appropriate tests & measures; and create a customized treatment plan. This first appointment will also include a treatment.
​
​
Follow-Up Sessions (15, 30 or 45 min)
​
Your therapist will recommend the appropriate length of your follow-up appointment based on the treatment plan that was established during your initial evaluation.
A 15 min session will likely include treatment of 2-3 muscles with minimal manual therapy treatments.
​
A 30 min session will be more comprehensive with a brief massage to assess the problem areas followed by dry needling treatment to 3-8 muscles (depending on condition and areas treated). This session may also include some manual therapy techniques, stretching, joint mobilizations and/or other appropriate treatments. To conclude, you will be given 1-2 exercised to work on at home.
​
A 45 min session is the most thorough and comprehensive. This session will include everything from the 30 min session, but will also allow for more time to spend on supportive treatment techniques and/or treat a second part of the body.
​
​
Insurance
​
We are an Out-of-Network Physical Therapy Provider. This means that we will collect your flat fee payment at the time of your service. We will collect your insurance information, check your benefits and submit your insurance claim for you. If you have the appropriate benefits, you will receive a refund check in the mail from your insurance company. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that you will receive reimbursement, but we will do our best to help you afford the necessary care that you need!
​
To check your benefits, give us a call at 443-345-4325!
Testimonials
"I was suffering with severe shoulder pain for close to six months. I could barely perform routine daily chores without severe pain, let alone exercise and enjoy my sports activities. I was waking up many times a night due to the pain, and it was impossible to find a comfortable sleeping position.
My wife was researching trying to find someone that performed therapeutic massage when she found Restore Therapy Spa and discovered their Dry Needling therapy. The therapist diagnosed me with a frozen shoulder, and after the first session I had immediate relief and felt better than I had in six months.
My case was rather severe so I saw her for 10 sessions. I was pretty much pain free after a few sessions but needed additional treatments in order to free the shoulder and restore full range of motion. I am a firm believer in my therapist and this technique and highly recommend the therapists at Restore Therapy Spa to anyone suffering in pain."
Mark H. Davey
​
“I have had suboccipital headaches up to 3 times a week for almost 10 years. I had tried all sorts of things to help such as massage, heat, releases, stretching and strengthening, all with no avail. Then my therapist at Restore
Therapy Spa started a new form of physical therapy called Dry Needling with me. Within 5 sessions I no longer had headaches and have been without for almost 6 months for the first time since. I highly recommend Restore Therapy Spa!”
Justin Gilligan, PTA at Therafit Gym
​
​
"I visited Restore Therapy Spa for the first time after seeing that she did physical therapy with massage. I had never heard of dry needling, and am not a fan of needles. However, she explained dry needling, and due to the length of time I had had difficulties, as well as the number of other specialists I had seen who had not helped me, it seemed to make sense to me, both diagnosis and treatment.
I wish I had seen my therapist at Restore therapy spa first. I was very active in dance, running, and just walking and hiking in general, until I hurt my foot two years ago. After the swelling subsided, I still could not walk. I visited many specialists over a year and a half, who said, essentially, that nothing was wrong, perhaps just a bit of internal swelling. They even gave me steroid injections into the bottom of my foot. As a result of inactivity, I began to have increasing pain in areas that had slightly bothered me before. I saw physical therapists who only increased the pain and problems, and did not seem to understand when I tried to discuss this. My therapist was able to recognize the symptoms, all of them, as muscle knots. Quite simply, she applied dry needles to my foot, and I could walk again. It sounds a bit magical, but there it is. She has treated other parts of my body that have gotten into a vicious cycle of pain and restricted movement, and I am much more active now, returning gradually to my previous level of athleticism. My therapist has been really great to consult with throughout the treatment process. My body is not perfect—my muscles still have a tendency to tighten, but it is amazingly powerful to understand what is going on and the little things that I can do myself to improve the situation."
Ginnie
​
​
"I went to see [the therapists at Restore Therapy Spa] for dry needling when I felt that my chiropractic treatments were beginning to plateau. She told me that my neck was one of the stiffest she had encountered, but her treatment helped tremendously and good results were apparent almost immediately. I have less pain, and am much more comfortable turning my neck when driving now. I have no hesitation in recommending [Restore Therapy Spa's] treatments."
Nana
​
"My first appointment with you I was surprised. I thought I was coming in for a massage (like you would get at a spa). Little did I know you were actually going to help me with not only the pain in my right leg but also with my neck and shoulders.
About 4 ½ to 5 years ago, I had taken a nasty fall at work and went down on my right knee. All this time I had been searching for someone who would listen and help with the burning sensation and numbness I had been feeling for so long.
I had tried chiropractic and acupuncture. These sessions were short-lived. Within days the pain and numbness would be back. I talked to other doctors and was told this was nerve damage and it would take time for the nerves to heal. How long was I supposed to wait? I think 5 years is long enough!
​
Little did I know that on May 12, 2015 at 4 pm my suffering would coming to an end!
I look forward to coming back on a monthly basis to keep things in check. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your help and look forward to seeing you soon,"
Debbie Zink
10-9-15
​
"Before seeing [the therapists at Restore Therapy Spa] and receiving dry needling treatments I could only turn my neck 48 degrees. I sit at a desk all day working on a computer and talking on the phone in constant neck pain. It was very hard for me to change lanes on the highway due to lack of range of motion. My relatives would ask me if I had a stiff neck? After 4 dry needling sessions I am now moving my neck 70 degrees! Thanks to my therapist's dry needling treatments I am pain free and relatives don’t ask me if my neck is stiff!!! I highly recommend [the therapists at Restore Therapy Spa] and [their] dry needling treatments to relieve your pain. Now my daughter and father are going!"
Carla Cannon
5 Star ***** Rating
​
"My therapist at Restore Therapy Spa does a great job! My experience has been that the needling get in the muscle where the hands cannot and the response is quicker and longer lasting. Highly recommended."
Karen Abbott Robertson
5 Star ***** Rating
​
​
"Before going to Restore Therapy Spa, I had been bothered by chronic tennis elbow and pain in my trapezius muscles in my shoulders. I had tried medication, massage, and acupuncture without relief. The dry needle treatment was the only thing that gave me relief. I would highly recommend trying it."
Fran W., Westminster, MD
​
​
"I took a fall 4 years ago and really messed up my whole right hip area, groin, inner thigh down to my knee. I damaged a lot of muscle and soft tissue. I’ve went for physical therapy, but was still in constant discomfort. After two years of having the injury, I was told about a therapist who did a lot of hands on and pressure point therapy. So I tried it and got some help each time I went 3 times a week and got some relief overall. Then I was told about dry needle therapy and how it could get down deeper in the muscle than what the therapist herself could do. I hesitated for about 6 months and finally I thought I need to try this so I could have better mobility and flexibility in getting up and down, in and out of the car, even getting in bed. So I made my first appointment with Restore Therapy Spa. Wow! What a difference after my first session. Getting in and out of bed no longer hurt in the hip and spine area. Plus getting up and down from sitting and the walking and balance was even helped. I’ve only had 4 therapy sessions with dry needle and what a big difference it made in my life. No pain management. NO PILLS. No going for physical therapy 3 times a week. Dry needle is a plus!"
C. Marquette
​
​
"My experience with [my therapist at Restore Therapy Spa] was wonderful. She is accessible, affable and very effective. Her understanding of trigger point dry needle therapy and physiology along with her ability to listen and diagnose resulted in significant relief of my pain. She really is a consciousness professional and I am glad to know she is a support I can rely upon."
B. Turner
​
​
"My wife is a Physical Therapist and she got sick of me constantly begging her for a massage to help relieve the muscle pain in my traps so she refereed me to Ann for my first Dry Needling appointment. I was suffering from constant and advancing soreness/tightness in my traps & neck caused by some significant knots (or “Trigger Points”) that had been developing over a few year time period. Massage provided some temporary relieve but the reprieve never lasted very long and I couldn’t continue to justify the ongoing cost of the massage treatment since it wasn’t actually fixing the issue, just easing some of the irritation for a short period of time. I was very skeptical when I met my dry needling therapist for my first appointment as I hadn’t heard of Dry Needling before, but she quickly proved my uncertainty to be unfounded as I experienced dramatic results after my first treatment. She focused her efforts solely on finding and addressing the main trigger points in my traps which proved to be relatively difficult given the acute muscle tightness (she said the muscles “felt like bones”). However, my therapist didn’t give up and she inserted needles from several different angles with varying body positions and was ultimately able to get the muscle “twitches” she was looking for. With each needle and corresponding muscle twitch I could feel the knots in my traps softening and decreasing in size. I felt amazingly better after my first treatment (less pain, less stress, increased range of motion) so I booked a follow up appointment for the next week. She again focused the needles on the trigger points in my traps and amazingly she was pretty much able to make the knots disappear after just two weeks. I never expected to get such dramatic results so quickly and would recommend this treatment to anyone suffering from a similar problem. I can attest to the fact that [my therapist at Restore Therapy Spa] was able to get more significant and lasting results in just 2 sessions than I would have gotten from a half years-worth of weekly massage treatments. Don’t get me wrong, I will definitely be back for more targeted work but I couldn’t believe how much better I felt after just 2 sessions. If you have been dealing with similar issues in any part of your body you should definitely give this a shot. It works well and it works fast and I promise your return on investment will be much more tangible than keeping up with basic massage treatments."
R. Stewart
​
​
"After a sudden onset of severe pain in my neck and shoulder, which prevented me from sleeping for even more than 1 hour a night, I tried anti-inflammatory drugs, treatments from a chiropractor, physical therapist and acupuncturist over the next four weeks, with minimal improvement. After 3 brief appointments with [my therapist at Restore Therapy Spa], I was 90% recovered and was soon 100% after following her recommendations regarding exercise, stretching, posture, sleep and other habits. [My therapist] is the best and more practitioners should educate themselves on dry needling."
M. L.