Dry Needling - Intramuscular Stimulation (IMS)

Dry Needling, otherwise known as Intramuscular Stimulation (IMS), is a therapeutic treatment method that involves using mono-filament needles (acupuncture needles) that are placed into muscle trigger points. Trigger points are very tight and irritable spots in the muscle band that are causing the client pain. 

When trigger points cause pain for long enough, this can cause dysfunction of the nervous system – which increases the pain response further. By alleviating these trigger points, the body can begin to heal the nervous system and you will start to experience pain relief.

When our highly skilled IMS certified Physiotherapists begin to alleviate your pain with dry needling, you can expect the twitch response to cause biochemical changes within the muscle and reduce muscle tension. This is done through modulation of the central and peripheral nervous systems. 

Inserting the acupuncture needle into the muscle increases blood flow to the area for several hours after the treatment; this helps provide oxygen and nutrients to the malnourished trigger point. The twitch sensation begins to deactivate the trigger point – this reduces pain and improves the tissues' healing and recovery process.

Intramuscular Stimulation (IMS) is a total system for both the diagnosis and treatment of myofascial pain. IMS relies heavily on a very thorough patient physical examination by a trained practitioner who can recognize the physical signs of neuropathic pain. This physical exam is crucial since chronic pain is often neurological (as opposed to structural) and is not visible on any sources of imaging.

The IMS treatment uses acupuncture needles because they are able to penetrate deep within muscle tissue. The acupuncture needles specifically target injured muscles that have contracted and become shortened from distress. The needle sites can be at the centre of muscle bands, or they can be near the spine where the nerve root may have become irritated and hypersensitive. Acupuncture on a normal muscle is painless, but a shortened, hypersensitive muscle will ‘grasp’ the needle, and this may cause a cramping sensation.

The goal of IMS treatment is to release muscle shortening. Supersensitive areas can be desensitized, and the persistent pull of shortened muscles can be released. IMS is very effective for releasing shortened muscles. When competently performed, IMS has a remarkable success rate.