Gunn IMS & Dry Needling Crowfoot, Calgary NW

Potential risks associated with dry needling from the more common “minor” issues to the more serious adverse events, however this is not an exhaustive list.

Some of the more common (and typically minor) incidents that you can experience when being treated with a form of dry needling include bruising, bleeding, and discomfort.

When a needle penetrates the skin and goes past the level of the dermis, it may encounter blood vessels on the way to the targeted site. If the needle pierces the blood vessel, there can be a droplet or two of blood that comes after the needle is removed. Generally, the blood clots quickly due to the small gauge of the needle and your blood’s ability to clot. However, usually after a blood vessel has been hit, a small bruise may form and can be anywhere from smaller than a dime, to as large as a loonie depending on the type of needling performed, the gauge of the needle, and your body’s ability to clot quickly. Bruising is what occurs when blood vessels are damaged and small amounts of blood pool under the skin.

Discomfort or sharp pain can occur during and after needling treatments. These types of reactions are reported more frequently and can be a normal reaction to having acupuncture needles inserted into the muscles and tissue of the body. Some patients feel better immediately, while others may be sore for an hour or two, and up to a day or two. It is typically mild discomfort, but if you are concerned that there may be something wrong, contact your physiotherapist to discuss your response, or follow the plan your physiotherapist discussed with you if concerns arise following your departure from the clinic.

On the spectrum of risks associated with dry needling, we will move onto the slightly more concerning vaso-vagal response. The vaso-vagal response is experienced by most people as feeling faint or light-headed. Reports of dizziness, sweating, nausea, increased heart rate or a drop in blood pressure are rare, occurring in 0.2-7% of patients receiving treatment. Most often, patients recognize that they have had these reactions before to the sight of blood, or their own personal experience with immunizations, drawing blood for testing, or from previous treatments involving acupuncture needles.

Recovery from this response usually takes 20-30 minutes and is helped with a little snack and some water or juice. There are no long-term issues with having a vaso-vagal response, but if it does occur, it is usually a good idea to follow-up with your family doctor to make sure nothing else is going on that may have triggered this response.

Infection and pneumothorax are two of the more significant adverse events when it comes to having a physiotherapist insert a needle into your body. Bacterial infections after needling are rare but if they do occur, it is usually because of microorganisms on the surface of the skin. Symptoms would include pain, redness, swelling, and heat in the area of the infection. Most infections can be easily treated with a visit to a doctor.

The last and rarest of potential adverse events we will talk about is a pneumothorax. A pneumothorax is also known as a collapsed lung and occurs when an abnormal collection of air forms in the space between the lung and the chest wall. A pneumothorax can occur during dry needling if a needle enters the lung tissue, but thankfully this is quite rare, occurring in approximately one out of a million treatments. While shortness of breath is often thought of as the main symptom, other symptoms may include anxiety, cough and chest pain increasing while taking a deep breath in. Although quite rare in occurrence, if you do have these symptoms, please go straight to the emergency department as an x-ray is needed for diagnosis and you will require medical treatment.