The foot, ankle and lower limb area is SO complex and there are a range of different muscles working and inserting in this area. However, there is a downside…sometimes these muscles can contain myofascial trigger points – also known as muscle ‘knots‘ and this can be quite painful. But, the good news is that we can help!
Did you know that we specialise in DRY NEEDLING here at Talaria – Podiatrist of Thornbury!? Dry needling is the process by which a fine needle is inserted into the skin and muscle to target the myofascial trigger point that is causing you pain!
Our sports podiatrist – Mitchell Podhajski – recently completed a course to advance his skills in this area. Below he writes about his experience and how dry needling can advance your individual podiatry treatment!
“A few weeks ago I attended a dry-needling refresher course to consolidate my dry-needling skills and expand my knowledge through learning to needle a wider variety of muscles throughout the foot and lower limb. Whilst dry-needling may not be for everyone or relevant for every presentation, it certainly can be used amongst other treatment modalities to achieve a greater result for the patient. Using dry-needling as a source of treatment, the following case studies were explored:
- Anterior leg pain: Dry needling sites may include tibialis anterior, extensor digitorum longus and peroneus tertius.
- Chronic ankle instability: Dry needling sites may include peroneus longus and peroneus brevis.
- Achilles tendinopathy: Dry needling sites may include soleus, gastrocnemius and flexor hallucis longus.
- Exercise induced medial tibial pain: Dry needling sites may include flexor digitorum longus and tibialis posterior.
- Plantar heel pain: Dry needling sites may include abductor hallucis, flexor digitorum brevis, quadratus plantae, abductor digiti minimi and flexor hallucis brevis.
- Lesser forefoot pain: Dry needling sites may include interossei of digits 1-5.
The keys learnings and takeaways from the refresher course is that dry needling can have a local and central effect to influence the pain cycle. When relevant to a treatment plan, dry-needling should be performed weekly for a period of 4-6 weeks in combination with other techniques to reduce pain, increase strength, improve range of motion and assess loading.”
Above is an image of the anatomy of the foot and lower limb for you to have a look at. If you are interested in dry-needling, please speak to your podiatrist at Talaria – Podiatrist of Thornbury to see if it can fit into your individualised podiatry treatment plan! Book today through this link if you are in need of foot care and treatment!