Dry Needling & IMS (Intramuscular Stimulation) Therapy in North Vancouver

dry needling ims synergy physio north vancouver

– Are you seeking relief from chronic pain?
– Want to get back to your sports but an injury is keeping you off the field?
– Working hard to change your movement patterns or technique in your sport but feel like your body won’t move the way you want it to?

Dry Needling and Intramuscular Stimulation (IMS) offer effective methods to alleviate discomfort, restore mobility, and open up options to train new movement patterns.

Based on neurophysiological principles, Dry Needling targets tight muscles, releasing tension and pain, and providing an opportunity to retrain movement patterns.

At Synergy Physio, we specialize in ConnectTherapy™ & the Thoracic Ring Approach™, employing dry needling and IMS techniques with precision.

Our approach, developed by Dr. LJ Lee, involves a thorough diagnostic process to identify the root cause of your pain and distinguish compensatory muscles from the true underlying issues. This is a more targeted and precise method based on robust clinical reasoning rather than simply palpating for tight muscles.

This is Dry Needling with a difference – and means that you get more results with fewer needling points and effective treatment tailored to your specific needs.

By incorporating tailored exercises for your true Drivers post-needling, we not only alleviate pain but also empower you with new movement strategies. This holistic, TrueWholeBody™ approach prevents the development of excessive tension and pain, offering sustainable relief and improved functionality. Let us help you reclaim your life from chronic pain and regain control of your body’s well-being.

Ready to reclaim your life from pain and recurrent injuries?

Let our skilled physiotherapists at Synergy help you find relief and regain function.

Book A Session Today!

How can Dry Needling / IMS help?

Relief & Resolution of Chronic Pain

Dry Needling and Intramuscular Stimulation (IMS) provide effective relief for chronic pain sufferers. These techniques target tight muscles, releasing tension and pain by inserting thin needles, derived from traditional acupuncture, into affected areas. By triggering muscle reactions, IMS induces relaxation, allowing for the retraining of movement patterns and addressing the root cause of discomfort.

Address the true cause of “tight” muscles – why stretching doesn’t help

The feeling that your muscles are tight or restricted is most commonly caused by your nervous system driving more activity in the muscle than is needed for the posture or movement you are doing – it is actually your brain’s misperception of the muscle activity needed for what you are doing. Dry needling triggers a reflex relaxation response via your body’s own nervous system, and resets the baseline drive for muscle activity. Stretching doesn’t address the underlying nervous system drive in nearly the same way and this is why stretching can take much longer to have the same effect that one treatment session can have.

Create Options for New Movement

When your muscles have increased activity constantly, they not only create the feeling of tightness, but they also reduce range of motion at your joints, and create resistance to easy, fluid movements. With our unique TrueWholeBody™ approach, at Synergy Physio + Pilates we will identify where in your body are the true Drivers of your problems, and then use Dry Needling to reduce barriers to training new movement patterns to make it much easier to move better, feel better, and be better.

Ideal Conditions where Dry Needling / IMS is used

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Upper and Midback pain
Groin pain
Hamstring Pain
Neck Pain and Headaches
Shoulder Impingement Syndrome
Lower Back Pain
Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis)
Plantar Fasciitis
Knee Osteoarthritis

FAQs

Frequently asked questions

Is Dry Needling painful?

It depends – some points will generate a big twitch of your muscle which can feel strange at first but not painful at all. Other points create an achy feeling that can remain after the needle is removed. In general, post-needling ache / soreness can last between 30 minutes to 2 days after a treatment, depending on how sensitive your body is. Overall the feeling of pain relief and increased movement you feel after a treatment should outweigh any discomfort from the needling points. Using heat and drinking lots of water after a treatment will help any post-treatment soreness to resolve more quickly.

How often should Dry Needling be done?

If you are only having a few needling points in a session, combined with other treatment input and movement training, you can have dry needling several times a week. If you are having many areas treated with Dry Needling, and multiple points, 1-2 sessions / week will allow you time to integrate and use the new movement patterns between sessions. It’s important to let your therapist know if you have an athletic or sports event or activity you plan to do after your treatment so they can adapt the number of needling points and treatment to your sports needs.

How long does a Dry Needling session last?

Treatment sessions can be 30 minutes, 45 minutes, or 60 minutes, depending on what your needs are. To ensure true long term effects from Dry Needling, your Synergy Physiotherapists use Dry Needling along with several other treatment techniques within a session, which means that needling is not the only treatment you will have. This is to ensure that the effects and results will be longer lasting. This includes the development of a personalized exercise program that trains new patterns of movement so you reduce your need for continued release with Dry Needling.