Functional Dry Needling

functional; dry needling; physiotherapy; pain; recovery

Unlock the benefits of Functional Dry Needling (FDN) or Intramuscular Stimulation (IMS), a highly effective treatment option. Ideal for addressing back pain, arthritis, knee pain, and headaches, this focused keyphrase-enhanced approach accelerates your journey to achieving your health goals. If pain disrupts your passion, explore how FDN can be your tailored solution.

Meet the Dry Needling Experts

Dr. Zylstra has over 20 years of experience in orthopedics, pre-/post- surgical care, sports performance, wellness training, chronic pain treatment, and injury prevention. He works with patients of all ages and across all activity levels. Dr. Zylstra founded a physical therapy education company, KinetaCore (now part of Evidence in Motion), in 2006. His desire was to share his Functional Dry Needling© techniques with other therapists who wanted to help their patients return to their daily activities more quickly. From a love of teaching dry needling and advocating for its acceptance across the United States, he currently teaches foundational, clinical, and advanced level courses throughout the US and Canada.

Dr. Waterway has had over six years of Functional Dry Needling training and mentorship, as well as attendance and exposure to numerous therapy modalities and philosophies. During his graduate work, he served as a gross anatomy teaching assistant, which sparked his passion for teaching. Dr. Waterway has worked in modalities such as empathy, manual therapy, Functional Dry Needling, Blood Flow Restriction therapy, FMS & SFMA assessment philosophies, and client-specific movement correctives, sparking change in countless lives. He currently treats in the Hudsonville office, and looks forward to new continuing education opportunities to add more modality expertise to his ever-growing treatment retinue. He also serves as Assistant Instructor for Evidence In Motion’s Functional Dry Needling series.

what is dry needling?

FDN is a therapeutic technique that involves the insertion of thin, sterile needles into specific trigger points, or knots, in muscles. Dry needling aims to release tension and relieve pain in the affected area by stimulating the nervous system. When the nerve interacts with the trigger point in your muscle it causes a twitch. This twitch is the “reset” of the nerve-muscle connection, therefore leading to improved function of the muscle.

Once the muscle twitches, this leads to increased blood flow to any muscles that were treated. This leads to decreased pain, improved mobility, and overall improvement in how the muscle works.

Check out this video of Functional Dry Needling for relieving neck and shoulder pain from arthritis and degenerative disc disease!

“Dry Needling is only as effective as the physical assessment prior and the reinforcements of patient-specific movement correctives after the treatment. Reset. Reinforce. Reload.”

It is only used after a full evaluation of your medical history, movement, musculoskeletal, and nervous system. This allows us to be as specific and effective as possible. Once we (you and I) conclude that dry needling is the right intervention for you, we jump into the treatment.

is it the same as acupuncture?

The short answer is, no. We just use the same tools.

Unlike acupuncture, which is based on Traditional Chinese Medicine and aims to balance the flow of energy or Qi through the body, dry needling is based on Western medical principles and focuses on the musculoskeletal and nervous systems.

How can it help you?

Reduce Pain

One of the main benefits of dry needling is that it can reduce pain. It does this by targeting trigger points and muscle dysfunction, which can help relieve pain from sports injuries, general muscle pain, and even conditions like fibromyalgia. This can provide relief to people who are dealing with ongoing pain and discomfort.

Improve Mobility

Another benefit of dry needling is that it can improve mobility. Resetting muscle function helps restore normal muscle activation patterns needed for healthy movement. This can result in increased flexibility and range of motion, which allows people to move more easily and perform activities with greater freedom.

Speed Up Recovery Times

Dry needling is also known to speed up recovery times. Many patients notice immediate improvements in their range of motion after a dry needling session. This can be especially helpful for athletes who want to recover quickly after a competition or individuals who want to resume their regular activities as soon as possible.