Athletes, regardless of their level, endure immense physical and mental demands. The demands of constant training and year-round competitions leave little time for their bodies to recover. The growing pressure to excel and compete has led to athletes specializing in a single sport, resulting in an increased risk of overuse injuries and repetitive strain.
Athletes endure repetitive stress as they consistently work to enhance their strength, endurance, and agility. The stresses of athletic competition can lead to soft tissue injuries. Moreover, the mental stresses, both internal and external, can significantly impact an athlete's performance and recovery.
Trigger points, which are localized muscle knots and areas of muscle tension, are commonly found in athletes across various disciplines. Athletes such as swimmers, baseball players, track and field athletes, basketball players, runners, ice hockey players, and many others often develop trigger points due to muscle overload, overuse, repetitive activities, and excessive eccentric muscle activity.
To meet the growing demands placed on athletes, rehabilitation techniques in sports medicine and athletic training have evolved. Dry needling therapy, has gained popularity among athletes. Dry needling serves to enhance recovery, prevent injuries, and optimize performance.
Dry needling therapy can be particularly effective in addressing trigger points, which are common in athletes due to the physical demands of their sport. This technique can have a profound impact on various aspects of athletic performance and recovery:
It's effectiveness can be witnessed in the following ways:
1. Dry needling has been shown to be more effective in improving pressure pain thresholds compared to manual trigger point therapy. This can result in better pain management and improved function
(Llamas-Ramos et al., 2014).
2. Dry needling can assist in the management of tendinopathies by increasing blood flow through local vasodilation and collagen proliferation (Kubo et al., 2010; James et al., 2007; Langevin et al., 2007).
3. Dry needling can enhance range of motion in athletes, as demonstrated in cases such as shoulder range of motion in volleyball players (Osborne and Gatt, 2010) and shoulder range of motion in individuals with supraspinatus tendon lesions (Rha et al., 2013).
4. Dry needling has been shown to increase maximal endurance, force, and flexibility in various muscle groups, such as knee extensors and hamstrings (Haser et al., 2017; Alaei et al., 2021).
5. By addressing trigger points, dry needling can reduce muscle fatigue and prevent overload within the muscle (Ge et al., 2012).
6. Athletes face psychological stressors from competition and non-competition sources. Dry needling can influence brain regions associated with emotional stress and aid in managing these psychological challenges (Hui et al., 2000; Wu et al., 2002).
Athletes require professional care to maintain their physical condition and recover from injuries. Dry needling is an effective treatment technique that offers numerous benefits. In addition to promoting local tissue recovery, this technique can release opioid peptides, reduce the input from trigger points, and alleviate pain and sensitivity associated with these areas. Given the well-documented issues with opioid use in athletics, offering alternative, effective treatment options that focus on restoring function and reducing pain is crucial.
Dry needling is an invaluable tool for athletes looking to excel in their sport and stands as a powerful modality to assist athletes in returning to peak performance.
Llamas-Ramos R, Pecos-Martín D, Gallego-Izquierdo T, Llamas-Ramos I, Plaza-Manzano G, Ortega-Santiago R, Cleland J, Fernández-de-Las-Peñas C. 2014. Comparison of the short-term outcomes between trigger point dry needling and trigger point manual therapy for the management of chronic mechanical neck pain: a randomized clinical trial. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 44:852-861.
Kubo K, Yajima H, Takayama M, Ikebukuro T, Mizoguchi H, Takakura N. 2010. Effects of acupuncture and heating on blood volume and oxygen saturation of human Achilles tendon in vivo. Euro J Appl Physiol. 109:545-550.
James SL, Ali K, Pocock C, Robertson C, Walkter J, Bell J, Connell D. 2007. Ultrasound-guided dry needling and autologous blood injection for patellar tendinosis. Br J Sports Med. 41:518-521.
Langevin HM, Bouffard NA, Badger GJ, Churchill DL, Badger GH. 2007. Connective tissue fibroblast response to acupuncture: dose-dependent effect of bidirectional needle rotation. J Altern Complement Med. 13:355-360.
Osborne NJ, Gatt IT. 2010. Management of shoulder injuries using dry needling in elite volleyball players. Acupunct Med. 28:42-45.
Rha DW, Park GY, Kim YK, Kim MT, Lee SC. 2013. Comparison of the therapeutic effects of ultrasound-guided platelet-rich plasma injection and dry needling in rotator cuff disease: a randomized controlled trial. Clin Rehabil. 27:113-122.
Haser C, Stöggl T, Kriner M, Jörg M, Wolfahrt B, Scherr J, Halle M, Pfab F. 2017. Effect of Dry Needling on Thigh Muscle Strength and Hip Flexion in Elite Soccer Players. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 49(2):378-383.
Alaei, P, Ansari NN, Naghdi S, Fakhari Z, Komesh S, & Dommerholt. J:. Dry needling for hamstring flexibility: a single-blind randomized controlled trial. J Sport Rehabil. Advance online publication.
Ge HY, Arendt-Neilsen L, Madeleine P. 2012. Accelerated muscle fatigability of latent myofascial trigger points in humans. Pain Med. 13:957-964.
Hui KK, Liu J, Makris N, Gollub RL, Chen AJ, Moore CI, Kennedy DN Rosen BR, Kwong KK. 2000. Acupuncture modulates the limbic system and subcortical gray structures of the human brain: evidence from fMRI studies in normal subjects. Hum Brain Mapp. 9:13-25.
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