Dry Needling for Frozen Shoulder and Rotator Cuff Injuries
Dry Needling for Frozen Shoulder and Rotator Cuff Injuries is a quick and effective way to relieve pain and get back to your sports, athletic, and daily living activities.
What Dry Needling Does? How does it work?
Dry needling works by firing the “motor points” of the muscles and fascia, so that your muscles and fascia return to the normal length they were before your injury. Dry needling will work for you whether your injury is acute, or chronic.
We also use our dry needles to deactivate active “trigger points”, focalized tissue bundles in the fascia and muscle that are a major source of your pain.
Frozen Shoulder versus Rotator Cuff Injury
What Is Frozen Shoulder?
Most of the time Frozen Shoulder comes on suddenly, but without any rhyme or reason, and is typically found in the middle aged. They can be the result of overuse, but may not be. In frozen shoulder the muscles feel just like it sounds, frozen.
There is a lack of contractile and relaxing activity as there would normally be. This is always associated with profound levels of trigger point contraction. The good news is frozen shoulder responds so very well to Dry Needling into the motor points and trigger points with electrical stimulation to further the effect on the dry needles on the fascia and muscles.
What Are Rotator Cuff Injuries
Rotator cuff injuries, on the other hand, are usually from overuse, or repetitive use, and often from sports. We see these a lot in baseball players, especially pitchers, tennis players with strong serves, anything involving throwing.
We also see it a lot in people lifting weights, and using tools, such as plumbers and carpenter. Repetitive motions such as hammering, and turning wrenches. Auto mechanics are also good candidates for repetitive use injuries. Rotator Cuff injuries can be strains of the muscles and tendons, as well as myofascial tightness from activated trigger point.
The treatment is very similar as for frozen shoulder–identify the effected trigger points and motor points, and stimulate them to return your muscles and fascia to normal!
How Many Dry Needling Sessions Will I Need?
The good news, the very good news, is how well our bodies respond to dry needling for both rotator cuff injury and frozen shoulder. I get much faster and more profound results with Dry Needling than I can with acupuncture.. Most folk feel some improvement after just one visit. And many folk feel nearly all better within three visits. Some are all better after 3.
In 32 years of practicing dry needling I have rarely treated anyone for a rotator cuff or frozen shoulder more than 6 times. It can be, especially in very old and deconditioned people, in which case I really must be on top of there rehab exercises.
What Does the Dry Needling Treatment of Frozen Shoulder or Rotator Cuff Injury Involve?
The treatment for both rotator cuff and frozen shoulder involves first examining the should joint to identify the effected tissues, and the activated trigger points, and motor points.
Next we needle said points, with anywhere from 34 to 30 gauge dry needles, to a depth of ½ to as much as 3 inches. The typical muscles are the upper trapezius, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres major and minor, lattisimus dorsi, the posterior, medial, and anterior deltoid, the triceps, the long and short heads of the biceps, the coraco-brachialis, the pectoralis major and minor, the subscapularis, and even the lateral extensors of the forarm!
The Special Role of the Subscapularis Muscle in Frozen Shoulder
I have found that nearly every single case of Frozen Shoulder has a spasmed or frozen, subcapularis, see the attached photo. The subscap is the primary stabilizer of the shoulder joint. It does this by helping to fix the proximal humerus when you move your elbow, wrist, or hand. It also protects the front of the shoulder joint by preventing the head of the humerus from moving out of place.
In addition is has the jobs of adduction and internal rotation, this is why many folks with frozen shoulder unconsciously hold their arm tight to their body on the effected side, an action that is not helpful, and has to be improved consciously.
In cases of the Subscap I have to use a 30 gauge 3 inch needles, and I needle directly into the motor point of the subscap, and then needle a second time into the edge of the motor point so that needle 2 crosses needle one.
Most people feel a huge release either when I first insert the needles, or, if your subscap feels like unworked clay, then as you relax after 5-10 minutes, I stimulate the needles a bit more, and then you feel the release, which predicts much relief after we are done with your treatment.
Electrical Stimulation for Frozen Shoulder and Rotator Cuff
I also always want to use electrical stimulation on these needles for a better result. Electrical stimulation involves attaching an alligator clip with wires from a small device with a small 6 volt battery, like a transistor radio, to the dry needles. We slowly slowly turn it on so you feel a pleasant tapping sensation on the needle, and your muscle moving involuntarily. Most people actually enjoy the sensation and find it relaxing once used to it. And if not, then we do not use it. Its your body your choice!
