What Does Dry Needling Do? Trigger Points, the Twitch Response & IMS
Dry needling can help reduce pain, relieve muscle tension and improve movement by targeting sore spots in tight muscle, known as myofascial trigger points. Sometimes, the muscle gives a quick, automatic twitch called a local twitch response.
Key Takeaways
Nothing is injected during dry needling. A thin, solid needle is used to stimulate muscle tissue without delivering medication or fluid.
The evidence is strongest for short-term pain relief. Dry needling can help some patients, but it is not a cure-all and results can vary by condition.
At Phenom Sports and Rehabilitation in Arvada, dry needling (IMS) is used when appropriate as part of a broader, individualized rehabilitation plan.
Table of Contents
What Does Dry Needling Do?
Dry needling can help reduce pain, ease muscle tension and make movement easier.
It uses a very thin needle to target tight or sensitive areas in a muscle. And even though a needle is used, nothing is injected.
One common target is a trigger point, a sensitive spot within a tight muscle.
When the needle stimulates one of these sensitive areas, the muscle may give a quick, automatic twitch.
This is called a local twitch response. It may feel like a brief jump or cramp in the muscle. But don’t worry if you do not feel a twitch. It does not always happen and it is not necessary for the treatment to work.
Many patients describe dry needling as feeling more unusual than painful, although the sensation can vary from person to person.
Dry needling is one tool we can use together with exercise, mobility work, movement training and other parts of your rehabilitation.
What Is a Trigger Point?
A myofascial trigger point is a hypersensitive spot inside a tight section of muscle.
That tight section is known as a taut band. It can feel firmer than the muscle around it, almost like a small rope under the skin.
If we press on a trigger point, you may feel pain right in that spot.
But the pain does not always stay there.
Sometimes, you feel the pain somewhere else in the body. This is known as referred pain.
Over the years, clinicians have used referral patterns described by Drs. Janet Travell and David Simons to help understand where pain from certain muscles may be felt. These patterns can be useful guides, but they are not exact maps. Symptoms can vary from person to person.
Trigger points may appear after an injury, repeated loading or periods of muscle overload.
Sensitive muscle tissue can also create more nociceptive input, which is the medical term for signals sent from sensitive tissue to your nervous system. Think of it like the tissue sending more warning messages to your brain.
Researchers are still studying exactly why trigger points form and how they contribute to pain.
How Does Dry Needling Work?
Dry needling works by creating a small stimulus in the muscle. That stimulus can affect muscle tension, change the pain signals your nervous system receives and create a local response in the surrounding tissue.
1. It stimulates the muscle
First, the needle gives the muscle a very small physical stimulus. Sometimes, the muscle responds with the local twitch response we talked about earlier.
The needle may also affect the motor endplate, the area where a nerve communicates with a muscle fiber.
One possible mechanism involves acetylcholine, a chemical messenger your nerves use to tell a muscle to contract.
This can mean less sensitivity and tension in the treated muscle, which can make it feel easier and more comfortable to move.
2. It may change pain signals
The needle also stimulates sensory nerves.
This may change some of the pain-related signals traveling from the sensitive tissue to your nervous system. Clinicians call these signals nociceptive input.
In simple terms, it can change how your body responds to pain signals, both around the treated area and through the nervous system.
3. It creates a local tissue response
The tissue around the needle can respond too. Dry needling can temporarily increase local blood flow and trigger other biological changes in the area.
The needle creates a small amount of stimulation in the tissue, which may help trigger the body’s natural repair response.
So dry needling is not simply about breaking up a knot. It can affect the muscle, the tissue around it and the nervous system all at once.
Does Dry Needling Actually Work?
Yes. Dry needling can help reduce musculoskeletal pain for some people, especially in the short-term. But it is not a cure-all and results can vary depending on the condition and the person.
The strongest evidence is for short-term pain relief.
A 2023 umbrella review looked at 36 systematic reviews covering dry needling for musculoskeletal pain across different areas of the body. People who received dry needling had better short-term pain relief than those who received a placebo treatment or no treatment.
But feeling less pain is only part of what we are trying to achieve.
That is why, at Phenom Sports and Rehabilitation, Dr. Mark Davydov doesn’t treat dry needling like a quick fix. We can use it as one part of a broader rehabilitation plan that can also include exercise, strength work, mobility and movement training.
He is an expert in identifying the root cause and setting you up for long term success, not just a short term bandaid solution. Amanda Esselink
What Are the Benefits of Dry Needling?
The main benefits of dry needling are usually related to reducing pain, easing muscle tension and helping you move more comfortably.
Depending on the condition and the area being treated, dry needling may help with:
Short-term pain relief in sore or sensitive muscles
Less muscle tightness or the feeling of a muscle being stuck
Reduced tenderness in painful areas
Improved range of motion, especially when pain or muscle tension is limiting movement
Easier exercise and mobility work by making movement more comfortable
Improved muscle performance in some conditions
But the benefits are not the same for everyone.
Your results can depend on what is causing your symptoms, the area being treated and what else we include in your rehabilitation plan.
What Is IMS and Is It the Same as Dry Needling?
IMS means intramuscular stimulation and, in many rehabilitation settings, it is used to describe a form of dry needling.
It uses a thin needle to stimulate muscle tissue and other sensitive areas that may be contributing to pain, tightness or movement problems.
You may hear the terms dry needling, IMS, or Dry Needling (IMS) used in similar ways. The exact name can vary depending on the clinician, training or technique.
At Phenom Sports and Rehabilitation, we describe the treatment as Dry Needling (IMS).
The important part is not the label. It is why the technique is being used, what tissue is being treated and how it fits into the rest of your rehabilitation plan.
What Is Dry Needling Used For?
Area | Examples of Conditions | Why Dry Needling May Help |
Neck pain, whiplash, muscle tension | May reduce sensitivity and tightness in muscles that are contributing to pain or limited movement | |
Low back pain, lumbar strain, sciatica | May help when tight, sensitive, or guarded muscles are part of the symptoms | |
Rotator cuff pain, shoulder impingement, frozen shoulder | May reduce muscle tension and make shoulder movement more comfortable | |
Hip bursitis, hip arthritis, labral tear rehabilitation | May help address tight or sensitive muscles around the hip | |
Runner’s knee, ACL rehabilitation, meniscus rehabilitation | May be used when surrounding muscles are painful, tight, or overloaded | |
Sports injuries | Muscle strains, overuse injuries | May help reduce muscle sensitivity and make it easier to progress with rehabilitation |
Plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinitis, ankle sprains | May help when calf, foot, or lower-leg muscles are contributing to symptoms | |
TMJ dysfunction, jaw pain, clenching | May help reduce sensitivity and tension in the muscles around the jaw |
Seeing your condition here does not automatically mean dry needling is the right treatment for you.
We first need to understand how much muscle tension, sensitivity or movement restriction is contributing to your symptoms.
Is Dry Needling Right for You?
Dry needling can be right for you if muscle pain, tenderness, tightness or limited movement is part of what is causing your symptoms.
But the decision starts with an evaluation.
When it makes sense, dry needling can be added to a broader treatment plan that may also include active rehabilitation, strength and mobility work, kinesiology, myofascial release, manual therapy or other physical therapy techniques.
What we include depends on what we find during your evaluation and what will actually help you move toward your goals.
One patient described our approach to treatment this way:
The therapists were knowledgeable and attentive, tailoring the treatment to my specific needs and ensuring I understood each step of the process. Nadiya Shepovalova
The Bottom Line
Dry needling is not a magic fix. But for the right person, it can be a useful tool for reducing pain, easing muscle tension and making movement feel easier.
The needle is only one part of the process.
What matters more is understanding why you are hurting, what is limiting your movement and what needs to change so you can get back to the things you want to do.
That is how we approach dry needling at Phenom Sports and Rehabilitation in Arvada.
If dry needling makes sense for you, we can use Dry Needling (IMS) as one part of a rehabilitation plan built around your symptoms, your goals and how you want to move again.
Because the goal is not simply to feel better today.
It is to help you move and perform better going forward.
FAQs
Is dry needling the same as acupuncture?
No. Dry needling and acupuncture both use thin, solid needles, but they use different clinical approaches. Dry needling is commonly used in musculoskeletal rehabilitation and targets specific muscles or tissues based on an examination. Acupuncture uses its own systems of assessment and point selection.
Does dry needling involve an injection?
No. Nothing is injected during dry needling. The word dry means the needle does not contain or deliver medication or other liquid.
What kind of needle is used for dry needling?
Dry needling uses a very thin, solid needle known as a filiform needle. Unlike a hollow injection needle, it is not designed to deliver medication.
Does a muscle have to twitch for dry needling to work?
No. A local twitch response can happen when the needle stimulates a sensitive part of the muscle, but a twitch is not required for dry needling to help.
Is IMS another name for dry needling?
Often, yes. IMS stands for intramuscular stimulation and the term is commonly used for forms of needling directed into muscle tissue. The exact terminology can vary depending on the clinician and training approach.
Can I get dry needling at Phenom Sports and Rehabilitation?
Yes. Phenom offers Dry Needling (IMS) in Arvada. It can be included in your rehabilitation plan when it fits your symptoms, goals and overall treatment approach.
External Links
Cleveland Clinic: Dry Needling: A patient-friendly overview of dry needling, trigger points, how the treatment is performed, and what patients may experience.
Local Twitch Response During Dry Needling: A systematic review and meta-analysis examining whether producing a local twitch response affects pain and disability outcomes.
Dry Needling and Muscle Mechanical Properties: A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis looking at how dry needling may affect muscle stiffness, tone, and elasticity in people with myofascial trigger points.
Safety and Adverse Events of Dry Needling: A 2026 systematic review examining the frequency and severity of side effects and adverse events associated with dry needling.
