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A good six years ago I had had enough of all the injuries of martial arts and decided to quit. My neck was constantly stiff and tense due to crouching or dodging. My knee was always inflamed, blocked or swollen from the kicks. My best friend at the time was the bright orange pill with the content ibuprofen, which I took immediately after the training. Until I discovered a replacement: Dry Needling.
But you probably know the tension too well without doing martial arts: the office chair and the daily sitting maneuver in front of the screen give the best tension effect! Egle, our marketing ninja, recently complained about the stiff neck and the tension between the shoulder blades. When she tried Dry Needling for the first time, she called me straight away:
I could hardly climb stairs anymore and the constant stabbing in the knee was the lesser evil. The marathon from specialist to sports doctor and back was the major idleness. The phantom of the pain opera played along in my mind. My partner Desiree, myself an ambitious triathlete and multiple Ironman winner, recommended a consultation with Adriano di Giacomo to get to the bottom of it. After a long, detailed medical history and sightings of my spine, pelvis and knee joints, Adriano was able to quickly determine the cause.
In fact, through the sport that I did for years, like jogging, boxing, functional fighting (Krav Maga) and trail runs, I developed a so-called Runners knee . In my specific case, the Iliotibialis tract, a broad fiber pull like a belt from the buttocks to the knee, compressed so that the thigh cramped and the kneecap was exposed. This led to recurring pain. As if someone was constantly stabbing with the knife. Dreadful.
In addition, I had developed a slight imbalance due to incorrect posture (avoid and deflect). But where does this evasive maneuver come from? Let's get to the bottom of it: For most AURUM customers, it is the back, cross or the shortened rear leg muscles that pinch, pinch or cause negative muscle tone. For me as an example, it was overtraining and improper loading of the main leg. Since I work out my body with my workload of well over 18 hours of sport a week, these ailments are inevitable.
Believe me, I've tried all kinds of therapies that Google spat out.
The needle provided a faster and more effective remedy here.
Dry Needling is a scientifically proven and effective treatment for complaints caused by muscle and fascia tissue. Tense myofascial trigger points are stimulated and released by sterile acupuncture needles.
Myofascial trigger points are microscopic tensions in the muscle tissue, which can form these typical nodular hardenings and strands in the muscle when they accumulate. These changes lead to a wide variety of symptoms, for example local or radiating pain, muscle stiffness or muscle weakness, muscle injuries, tendinitis or nerve irritation. During the detailed physical examination, the causing pain areas are first examined and ascertained. Very fine needles are then introduced into these areas .
The tissue is effectively stimulated by small movements. This promotes local blood circulation, which stimulates the breakdown of inflammatory processes and thus effectively alleviates pain symptoms. Depending on the symptoms, additional needles can be placed. This method relates purely to mechanical stimulation and the release of the myofascial trigger points. No drugs are injected into the tissue.
If you ask yourself these questions, we would be happy to share with you what we found out:
Depending on the symptoms and patient, the pure application of the needles can vary between 5-20 minutes. The dry needling treatment is part of a comprehensive treatment concept and is therefore embedded in a holistic therapy session, which is individually coordinated and rounded off with further therapy methods (e.g. manual therapy, fascia techniques, active exercises, etc.).
The frequency of treatment is determined individually. As a rule, 1-3 treatments with a focus on dry needling are carried out in order to achieve an initial improvement in the symptoms. Then, if necessary at all, a detailed further therapy planning is carried out, which evaluates previous therapeutic successes and takes the patient holistically into account.
Dry Needling is a low-side effect and specific therapy method. The fine needles allow deeper layers of tissue to be reached, which are often responsible for the painful symptoms. This enables very precise treatment, which would often not be possible to such an extent through manual forms of therapy. This not only makes dry needling very effective, but often enables major therapeutic advances in a shorter period of time. Treatment with dry needling is therefore often perceived as pleasant.
Since especially thin needles are used, the puncture into the skin is often perceived only as a small stitch. As soon as the needle is correctly positioned in the muscle tissue, small muscle twitches (so-called local twitch ) or a slight feeling of local pressure are perceived by the stimulation . After the dry needling application, slight muscle tension or a feeling of heaviness is often felt in the treated area, which quickly subsides, followed by deep muscle relaxation. Sometimes there may be a short-term feeling of muscle soreness.
Yes! We recommend. However, explosive sports such as soccer or squash should be avoided at least on the day of the first treatment. Endurance sports such as jogging, cycling or swimming, but also strength training can definitely support the treatment.
Acupuncture is based on the philosophy and knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine. This is based on the meridians (energy channels) that run superficially through the body, releases general blockages and thus promotes the entire flow of energy in the body. Dry needling, on the other hand, focuses on tense trigger points that are located in the muscle tissue. These are explicitly resolved locally, thereby improving the blood circulation and nutrition of the tissue.
After four to five hours of therapy with Dry Needling, I was able to walk somewhat painlessly again and had to start activating my stabilizers and learning the movement again with mobilization and classic physiotherapeutic strength exercises. Since I was always a child of nature, it was extremely difficult for me to be in the gym. A few weeks passed and the problems disappeared due to the combination of physiotherapy and strength training.
At Egle, it only took 15 minutes and 3 needles to solve the weeks-long office neck and tense shoulders.
It's amazing what the needles can do and how free and agile the body can be afterwards. The trigger point therapy turns out to be enormously profitable if you have already tried a few things. A good specialist usually hits the epicenter straight away.
With a mental and muscular detachment and with the knowledge that I only train maximum strength once a week, I bought a bike and started to practice endurance sports again without hitting the knee. A few weeks moved into the country and I drove through nature without pain.
But a prankster who thinks bad. By waiting too long and the enormous overloads, some muscle strands and fascia are still noticeable today and want to kiss the needle pro forma. I have been going to my favorite Italian and dry needling therapist Adriano at regular intervals for six years now, because my legs are loosened and flabby like fresh pasta. But the legs should feel al dente. And that's exactly how you go from his practice after a dry needling session. With a benevolent feeling, smiling over both ears and relaxed, as if there had been a heavy Sicilian tinto on top.
Hi, I am the AURUM Head Coach for the Location at Zurich City. My passion for endurance and competitive cycling has led me to deepen my understanding of High Intensity Training philosophy. I hope you enjoy my articles. Feel free to get in touch for HIT personal coaching and endurance advice.:
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