Dry Needling Therapy

This programme is designed by René Fonville, general practitioner and dry needling therapist. The application features over 100 muscles with trigger points and referral patterns, and for every muscle there is a detailed description of function, anatomy and innervation in word and graphics.

Dry needling is the use of a solid needle for therapy of muscle pain (myofascial pain). Dry needling contrasts with the use of a hollow needle to inject substances. Such use of a solid needle has been found to be as effective as injection of substances in such cases as relief of pain in muscles and connective tissue. Acupuncture and dry needling techniques may be similar, but their rationale and use in treatment are quite different.

The application is based on the important work of Dr. Janet Travell.
Dr. Janet Travell was an expert on myofascial pain - a term used to describe pain and dysfunction of skeletal muscles - and pioneered numerous techniques for dealing with chronic pain. Dr. Travell co-authored, with David Simons, the acclaimed two-volume book Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual. (Volume 1 was published in 1983 and dealt with the upper half of body, volume 2 was published in 1992 and dealt with the lower half.) Dr. Travell served as Associate (and later Emeritus) Clinical Professor of Medicine at The George Washington University, and remained an active figure up until her death at the age of ninety-five, writing, giving lectures, and attending conferences.

The application is easy to use and a quick help in finding the most important muscle(s) responsible for your patient's pain; a usefull guide in your daily "myofascial pain" practice.

René Fonville, GP and dry needling therapist.