Viral infections like Chikungunya, can often cause severe muscle pain, stiffness and joint pain that can be very painful and, often, crippling. But what is worse is that these pains and muscle spasm cause varying degrees of deformities particularly in the hands and feet. These can result in disabilities, which can persist long after the initial infection has subsided. Some patients report muscle pain, stiffness, restricted movement and joint problems weeks, months and even years later. Pain & deformities of the limbs can affect the performance of daily activities and, as a result, the functionality of the person is adversely affected.
This is a middle-aged lady’s experience of post-Chikungunya muscle pain in her arm, and how she benefited from Dry Needling therapy.
“One year ago, after having recovered from Chikungunya, I developed pain in my right hand along with tingling sensations in my arm and fingers. I was unable to fully bend the fingers of my right hand. The joints of the fingers of my right hand were also very painful. Bending the right thumb, in particular, was jerky and painful. This affected my daily work, as I was not able to lift weights, knead dough and even wring out washed clothes. I visited a nearby doctor, who advised me physiotherapy along with painkillers, but I had no relief and I continued to have trouble carrying out my routine activities.
A friend of mine recommended a pain specialist who told me that spasm and tightening of the muscles of my forearm secondary to Chikungunya, was partly responsible for the pain and stiffness of my hand, which prevented free movement of my fingers. This also had caused undue pull on the tendon to my thumb leading to its inflammation and caused a condition called Trigger finger. I was advised dry needling of the arm, along with an injection near the thumb, some medication to relieve the tingling & numbness and daily exercises of the arm. I underwent 6 sittings of dry needling of my arm over a period of 1 month along with an injection at the base of the thumb. After the first 3 sittings of dry needling, I not only had relief of pain, but I was also able to move the fingers of my right hand more freely. After another 3 sittings of dry needling, I had near complete recovery. Now there is no pain or stiffness in my arm and the tingling sensation has also decreased considerably. I am now able to do all activities with my hand. Even the painful trigger in my thumb has become alright.”
The various musculoskeletal and rheumatic sequelae that can develop after Chikungunya, include inflammation of tendons of the fingers & toes, plantar fasciitis, trigger finger, pain along with swelling in joints and a small minority can even develop rheumatoid arthritis. Currently, there is no standard treatment for post-Chikungunya arthritis although steroids and immunosuppressants have been used to treat the musculoskeletal and arthritic complications of Chikungunya. Dry needling together with exercises can be a valuable non-drug therapy in the treatment of this condition with practically no side-effects.
FAQs regarding Dry Needling
What is Dry Needling and how does it act?
Dry Needling, also called Intramuscular Manual Stimulation (IMS), is insertion of fine needles into the tightened muscle. This relaxes the muscle and relieves muscle spasm or tightness, which in turn, improves motion and function. The needles are kept in the muscle for 20 to 30 minutes and then removed. When combined with physiotherapy and exercises, it is an important non-drug therapy that can produce favourable results in many conditions where pain is a result of muscle spasm and muscle shortening.
Is Dry Needling painful?
Since very fine needles are introduced, there is minimum or hardly any pain. However, in very sensitive individuals, a local anaesthetic cream can be applied before the sitting.
Is Dry Needling the same as acupuncture?
The only similarity between acupuncture and dry needling is that similar needles are used. While acupuncture targets specific points in the body along certain meridians, dry needling primarily focuses on tight and shortened muscles in order to relax them and improve their functioning.
How many sittings would I require?
That depends on the underlying condition. For chronic pain conditions 5 to 10 sessions may be required. Whereas for recent or short duration pain, as few as a couple of sessions would suffice.
What are the other conditions where Dry Needling is beneficial?
Dry Needling has been found to be useful in conditions where tightened muscles are aggravating the underlying condition and result in pain and stiffness. Some examples of conditions where it could be useful include frozen shoulder, neck and shoulder pain, degenerative conditions of the spine resulting in backache and sciatica, osteoarthritis of the knees, tennis elbow, plantar fasciits, fibromyalgia, whiplash injury and post-Chikungunya muscle and joint pains.