Key Takeaways:

• With dry needling, inflammation is introduced intentionally to help move the body’s tissues through the repair phase and into the remodel phase.

• Inflammation helps reset the muscles so that they can relax and reset to their full length.

• Dry needling causes the body to release anandamide, which has a similar pain relieving effect to opioids.

Have you been curious to learn more about dry needling, but are not sure where to start?  In today’s episode, Dr. Andrew Fix speaks with Dr. Nate Henry, an Osteopractic physiotherapist and performance strength coach at Physio Room. He explains how dry needling differs from acupuncture, as well as the health benefits that can be achieved through this minimally invasive procedure.

Dry needling uses the same type of needles as acupuncture does, but is done with a different intention. Rather than manipulating your energy, dry needling aims to manipulate the body’s tissues to assist with the repair process. The needles introduce a small amount of intentionally placed inflammation into the muscle which helps tissue move through the repair phase and onto the remodel phase. Dry needling also causes muscles to reset to their original resting length by getting them to relax. It also is a great drug-free pain relief tool as it can cause the body to release anandamide, which offers similar pain relief to opioids without the risk of overdose or negative side effects.

Although dry needling may cause some mild discomfort due to the introduced inflammation, the benefits largely outweigh any risks. It is a safe and effective procedure with no downtime and is a great option for anyone looking to boost their body’s recovery, reduce pain, and improve muscle function.

Quotes

• “We need to understand exercise progression and load a lot better and apply it to our patients a lot sooner.” (9:51-10:00 | Dr. Nate)

• “When I apply needles to somebody’s body, I’m trying to affect the anatomical tissues of the body.” (22:32-22:37 | Dr. Nate)

• “We’re going to introduce inflammation on purpose. And I know that seems a little bit counterintuitive, but for somebody that has a sub acute injury or a chronic injury, let’s say chronic low back pain, there’s they’re simply not getting through the three step process of what when how the body responds to an injury, a inflammation, then it goes through a repair and then it goes through a remodel.” (23:36-24:02 | Dr. Nate)

• “In those chronic type injuries, they’re stuck in this inflammation repair phase and they’re not getting over the hump.” (24:20-24:28 | Dr. Nate)

• “When we stick a needle in a muscle group, it will restore its resting length.” (25:51-25:58 | Dr. Nate)

Links

Connect with Dr. Nate Henry:

http://spinalmanipulation.com/

https://spinalmanipulation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/peripheral-and-spinal-mechanisms-of-pain-and-dry-needling-mediated-analgesia-a-clinical-resource-guide-for-health-care-professionals-butts-et-al-2016.pdf

Connect with Physio Room: 

Website | ​​https://physioroomco.com/

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/physioroomco/

Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/physioroomco

Andrew’s Personal Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/dr.andrewfix/

Andrew’s Personal Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/andrew.fix.9/

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

The post 71. What is Dry Needling? | Dr. Nate Henry appeared first on Physio Room.

Becki Lynn is an avid runner who got into running during junior high and high school; starting with cross country and picking up recreational running habits. Being an easy, cheap and popular sport to get into, Colorado native Becki easily found a love for the sport among Denver’s many beautiful trails. 

Her first marathon was the Kauai Marathon in 2009; the inaugural year for this Hawaii race. “I didn’t know what I was in for, but I came in second overall female.” said Becki Lynn. She got bit by the “running bug” then, and returned the following year to win first place for the female division at the Kauai Marathon.

Just last year in 2021, Becki Lynn ran a race that was 257 miles. Once she found the sport that she excels at, she “ran” with it and never looked back. 

After training to run her first Leadville ultramarathon of 100 miles in 2013, she ran the Leadman series in 2014; consisting of a trail marathon, 50-mile bike or run, 100-mile mountain bike ride, 10K, and 100-mile trail race all in the span of a few weeks during the summer. Not to mention this is all done at a 9,200 to 12,620 elevation!

Becki Lynn’s mindset after running the Leadman 100 three times was, “Why not go back and do it better? That was really my mindset. I can do so much better.” 

As a serial marathon runner, Becki Lynn knows all the tricks of the trade. Between consistent training, proper hydration, and even the right footwear, there are lots of aspects to endurance running. Although it may seem tempting to miss a training session or ease up on nutrition, if accomplishing this goal is important to you, you will be able to dig deep enough to succeed.

Becki Lynn learned to plan for anything and everything, how to prepare her mind and body for strenuous marathons, races and activities, timing her sleep patterns, and achieving her goal of always improving her time and excelling at the sport that she loves. 

She persisted through setbacks during her running journey, and kept training to run every single race that she strived to. She says, “Don’t give up hope. If that’s your goal, don’t give it up. If it means something to you, you’ll find a way.” 

Is there a goal that you are passionate about reaching? Are you committed to reaching this goal and navigating the rough waters and obstacles that will present themselves along the way? 

If you set your mind to accomplishing a goal, whether it be that dream marathon or an achievement in your everyday life, don’t quit. It’s easier said than done, but the win is yours for the taking. 

Want to hear more about Becki Lynn’s running journey and how YOU can run in the direction of your goals? Listen to her episode on The Code Podcast below.

The post Are you Running in the Direction of your Goals? appeared first on Physio Room.